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ACCOUNT 



THE EXPERIENCE 



HESTER ANN ROGERS; 



FUNERAL SERMON, BY REV. T. COKE, LL.D. 



TO WHICH IS ADDED 



HER SPIRITUAL LETTERS. 



*■ Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what 
he hath done for my soul."— Psa. lxvj^ 



' 




NEW YORK, 
PUBLISHED BY T. MASON AND G. LANE, 

FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AT THB 
CONFERENCE OFFICE, 200 MULBERRY STREET. 



J. Collord, Printer. 
1837. 



4 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

have received manifest answers to prayer, when 
not more than four years old ; and how my ten- 
der mind has been comforted. I was deeply 
affected, and had very serious thoughts of death 
for some time, and after seeing the corpse of a 
little brother of mine, who died of *he small pox 
when I was five years old, I took great delight 
in the Bible, and could at this time read any part 
either of the Old or New Testament, always 
asking questions so as to obtain understanding 
of what I read. My parents required that I 
should give an account every Sabbath evening, 
of the sermons and lessons I heard at Church, 
and say my catechism to them, which they ex- 
plained to my understanding. They also re- 
quired that I should get off the collect for the 
day, and repeat it with my other prayers every 
night and morning. These collects I also often 
repeated in secret, and with great sincerity 
before the Lord. I never remember going to 
bed without having said my prayers, except 
once : I was then diverted by a girl who told 
me many childish stories, and so took up my at- 
tention, that I forgot to pray till I was in bed ; 
and then being alone, I recollected what I had 
done, and conscience greatly accused me ; so 
that I began to tremble lest Satan should be 
permitted of God to take me away body and 
soul, which I felt I deserved ! I soon after 
thought I saw him coming to the side of my 
bed ; when I shrieked out in such a manner as 
brought my parents up stairs to see what was 
the matter. This made a lasting impression ; 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 5 

and I never after dared to neglect commending 
myself to the protection of God before I slept. 
I was at this time about six years old. 

When about eight years of age. I heard my 
father say he had a very remarkable dream, in 
his recovery from a dangerous illness : that he 
stood before the throne of God, and saw his 
glory* But not being able to gaze upon it, fell 
on his face in raptures of joy. 

My mother asked if he could describe what 
he saw, but he answered, No, it was impossible 
to convey any idea of it, it seemed almost to 
deprive him of being. She asked if any thing 
was spoken to him, but he desired her to ask no 
more respecting it : nor would he ever tell her 
any more. I have often thought he received 
some notice in that dream of his approaching 
dissolution. A material change was evident 
from that time in all his conduct and tempers. 
Anger was ever before a besetting sin, but 1 
never remember to have seen him overcome by 
it after this. He was more vigilant in public 
and private duties ; more humble and patient 
under little difficulties and trials, more watchful 
over the morals of all around him, and took 
more pains than ever to inform my infant mind 
in all things which led to piety and virtue. He 
warned me against reading novels and romances, 
would not suffer me to learn to dance, nor to go 
on visits to play with those of my own age. He 
said it was the ruin of youth to suppose they 
were only to spend their time in diversions. I 
believe I shall have reason to bless God for ever 



b MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

for several lessons he then gave me, and to aL 
of which I listened with great delight. 

In February, 1765, when I was a few weeks 
more than nine years old, he took his last sick- 
ness ; a malignant fever, in which he lay several 
weeks, expressing through the whole of it an 
entire submission to the will of God, and an as- 
surance of a happy eternity. He sung psalms, 
repeated various scriptures, and praised God 
aloud ; and was continually commending to his 
care his dear wife and children. A few days 
before he died, he called aloud for me ; and 
when I came, he took my hand in his very af- 
fectionately, and said, " My dear Hetty, you 
look dejected. You must not let your spirits 
be cast down ; God hath ever cared for me, and 
he will take care of mine. He will bless you, 
my dear, when I am gone. I hope you will be 
a good child, and then you will be happy." 
Then laying his hand on my head, he lifted his 
eyes to heaven, and with a solemnity I shall 
never forget, said, — " Unto God's gracious mer- 
cy and protection I commit thee : the Lord bless 
thee, and keep thee ; the Lord lift up the light 
of his countenance upon thee, and give thee 
peace, and make thee his child and faithful serv- 
ant to thy life's end !" I cannot find words to 
express what were the feelings of my heart on 
this occasion. Love for my valuable and affec- 
tionate parent ; grief to reflect I was now losing 
him, and gratitude that his dying lips had pro- 
nounced such a blessing on my head, quite over- 
powered me. I fell on my knees, gave vent to 



1URS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 7 

a. flood of tears, and continued to weep till my 
eyes were almost swelled up. He died the 
tenth of April, 1765. 

My grief for some time would not suffer me 
to take recreations of any kind ; but I would sit 
and read to my mother, or weep with her. But 
after a season, I was invited to the houses of 
relations and friends ; and as I soon became a 
laughing stock among them for my seriousness, 
and dislike to their manners and their plays, 
I began to be ashamed of being so particular. 
My mother was also now prevailed on to let me 
learn to dance, in order to raise my spirits and 
improve my carriage, &c. This was a fatal 
stab to my seriousness and divine impressions ; ' 
it paved the way to lightness, trifling, love of 
pleasure, and various evils. As I soon made a 
proficiency, I delighted much in this ensnaring 
folly. My pride was fed by being admired, and 
began to make itself manifest with all its fruits. 
I now aimed to excel my companions, not in 
piety, but in fashionable dress ; and could not 
rest long together without being engaged in 
parties of pleasure, and especially in this (what 
the world calls) innocent amusement. I also 
obtained all the novels and romances I possibly 
could, and spent some time every day in reading 
them; though at first it was unknown to my 
mother, who would not then suffer it. After 
this I attended plays also. In short, I fell into 
all the vain customs and pleasures of a delusive 
world, as far as my situation in life would admit, 
and even beyond the proper limits of that station 



8 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

God had placed me in. Thus was my precious 
time mispent, and my foolish heart wandering 
far from happiness and God ; yea, urging on to 
endless ruin. Yet in all this, I was not left 
without keen convictions, gentle drawings, and 
many short-lived good resolutions, especially till 
fifteen years of age. God often wrought strong- 
ly upon my mind, and that in various ways, of 
which I come now to speak. But Oh ! how did 
I grieve and resist the Holy Ghost ! How justly 
might he have given me up; yea, and sealed 
me over to eternal destruction. 

At thirteen years old, namely, in the year 
1769, the bishop of Chester being to hold a con- 
firmation at Macclesfield, I resolved to attend 
that ordinance, though it was with many tears 
and much trembling ; for I believed till persons 
were confirmed they were not alike accounta- 
ble to God for their own conduct. But when 
this solemn renewal of the baptismal covenant 
was made in their own persons, then w r hosoever 
did not keep that covenant must perish ever- 
lastingly. I therefore endeavoured seriously to 
understand the import of it, and was deeply con. 
vinced I was neither inwardly nor outwardly 
what it required. The knowledge of this wrought 
much sorrow ; and I formed strong resolutions 
to lead a new life. Yet sin had so blinded my 
eyes, that I could not at this time believe, or at 
least I would not, that dancing, cards, or attend, 
ing plays, were sinful. These, 1 therefore, I did 
not even resolve against. But I resolved against 
anger, pride, disobedience to my parent ; also 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 9 

the neglect of secret prayer and church going ; 
with ail wanderings of heart in those duties, and 
a variety of oilier evil tempers, &c, which I knew 
myself guilty of. Having humbled myself before 
God, fasted and prayed, arid (as I vainly thought) 
fortified myself by these resolutions, of keeping 
all God's commands in future, I ventured to 
take upon mo the solemn vow. But such was 
my fear and trembling at the time, that when I 
approached the altar, I was near fainting ; and 
when returned to the pew, burst into a flood 
of tears. This was on Whitsunday ; and I in- 
tended to receive the holy sacrament the Sunday 
following. But before 1 came, I was conscious 
I had already broken my solemn vows ; and on 
the reflection, my distress was great, and I 
had many doubts whether partaking of the 
Lord's Supper would not be sealing my own 
damnation. However, one day as I was pray, 
ing, it came into my mind, this holy sacrament 
is called a mean of grace; surely then it is just 
what so sinful, so helpless a soul wants. I will 
go to it then as a mean whereby to receive 
strength and grace to conquer sin in future. In 
this view of that blessed ordinance I found much 
comfort ; and I am now assured it was from the 
Lord, whom ignorantly I was feeling after. I 
approached the Lord's table, therefore, with 
renewed vows, and renewed hopes : but, alas ! 
these also were as the " morning cloud, and as 
the early dew, which passeth away." For 
several months I thus repented and sinned, re- 
solved, and broke all my resolutions ; sinned 



10 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

and repented again. I dared not to receive the 
Lord's Supper without resolving on a new life ; 
neither dared I to stay from it ; nor did I ever 
attend without being wrought on by the Spirit 
of God. 

The latter end of this year I had a malignant 
fever, and believed I should die. I felt myself 
totally unprepared to appear before a holy God, 
and was in great distress : I earnestly entreated 
him to spare me a little longer, and resolved I 
would then spend a new life indeed. A patient 
forbearing God of love listened to my request, 
and did not cut the fig-tree down. One night 
during this illness I dreamed my soul was de- 
parted out of the body, and I, with three of my 
cousins,* (with whom I had a close intimacy, 
and who I thought had left the body also,) were 
waiting in dreadful expectation of being sum- 
moned to the bar of God ; and we all believed 
our doom would be everlasting darkness ! My 
sins all appeared as in array against me, in the 
court of conscience, and my mouth was stopped : 
I had no plea whatever, no hope ; for it seemed 
the justice of God must unavoidably sentence 
me to endless misery, which I felt to be my real 
desert ; and was bewailing my own folly with 
bitter cries and lamentations. Their employ I 

* N. B. These three cousins were Robert Roe, whose 
experience and death is related in the Arminian Maga- 
zine, and two of his sisters, Mary and Frances. These 
are all asleep in Jesus, and their happy spirits rejoicing 
before his throne ; though at the time of this dream they 
were utterly una wakened. 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 11 

thought was the same; each for ourselves, dread- 
ing " the worm that dieth not, and the fire which 
never shall be quenched !" When suddenly there 
appeared a cloud of uncommon brightness, and 
soon after a glorious angel descended in the 
cloud, and stood before us, clothed in white, with 
a majesty and beauty not to be described. We 
beheld his approach with trembling awe, and 
almost an agony of despair, believing he was 
sent to summon us to appear, and receive the 
deserved but dreadful sentence, " Depart, ye 
accursed!" But to our inconceivable surprise, 
he smiled on us with heavenly sweetness, and 
said, " The Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven all 
your sins, and washed you in his own blood, 
and I am come to bid you enter into the joy of 
your Lord, and to conduct you into his blissful 
presence !" Being now suddenly transported 
from depths of misery into joy unspeakable, love 
beyond compare, and extreme delight, I thought 
I sprung up, clapped my hands, leaped for joy, 
and praised my God in ecstacies unknown 
before ; so that it awoke me ! Never did I 
feel any thing like what I felt in this dream, 
sleeping or w 7 aking, before or after, till the Lord 
did truly speak my sins forgiven. This made a 
deep impression on my mind for some time. 
For a month or two I was very serious and cir- 
cumspect, and read all the religious books I 
could meet with. One of these I remember 
asserted, that we are all to be judged according 
to our works : therefore, if our good works are 
more than our evil ones, we are in a fair and 



12 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

sure way for heaven when we die ; bat if our 
evil works exceed our good, we may expect, 
condemnation. I thought I would impartially 
examine myself by this rule, and see what hope 
I should have for my own soul on these terms. 
I therefore made a little day book, in which I 
put down every good and bad action with great 
sincerity ; at the same time praying to God to 
show me i£ I was in the way to heaven or not. 
But then there were many things (as before ob- 
served) which I did not account sinful ; and 
again, many things I accounted good actions, 
because entirely ignorant that an impure motive, 
in the sight of that God who searcheth the heart, 
renders our actions, however splendid in the 
sight of men, abominable before him. Every 
act of obedience to my elders or superiors, I 
accounted a good action ; as also every prayer 
I offered, every ordinance I attended, every 
time I spoke the truth, instead of denying a 
fault : and in order to swell the number of my 
good actions, I would sometimes refuse going 
to a play, or to an entertainment, arid read to 
my mother at home. Nay, with this view I 
have fasted whole days from morning till even- 
ing ; but after all I found my bad actions more 
than my good ones. Yet I w r ent on resolving 
to be better, and still keeping the account, till 
being at a dance, I pulled out my day book w r ith 
my pocket handkerchief, and it was found, and 
made the jest of the company. I was then so 
ashamed, that I resolved to follow this method 
no more. 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 13 

I met with another book, which affirmed it 
was impossible to conquer all sins at once ; and 
i( ever we would obtain victory, it must be by 
overcoming first one and then another. Pride 
and anger I felt to be my most besetting sins, 
and therefore set myself against these in par- 
ticular. But I was foiled in every attempt, and 
it seemed, as the poet says, 

" The more I strove against its power, 
I sinn'd and stumbled but the more." 

So that this trial only made a more clear discovery 
that pride was interwoven with my every thought, 
and word, and action. I was now quite discour- 
aged, and thought it was all in vain to strive for 
a victory so impossible to gain ! I then looked 
round, and considered the conduct of others ; 
and when I saw them more trifling, more wicked 
than myself, and some of them, who passed for 
amiable characters, guilty of things which my 
soul shuddered at, I began to conclude I was 
very good, compared with these ; and surely all 
these would not be doomed to hell and damna- 
tion ! — That God was merciful, Christ died for 
sinners, and therefore if I lived a tolerably moral 
life, he would pardon the rest, and accept me 
through the merits of Christ in the hour of death ; 
or at least, I had as good a chance as others ; 
and therefore would cast away fear, and live like 
the rest of my moral neighbours. It was some 
time, however, before I had so resisted the con- 
victions of the Spirit of God, as to remain at 
ease : he strove with me various ways, till I was 



14 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

a little more than fifteen. But I so repeatedly 
grieved and quenched the motions of that Holy 
Spirit, that I was then in some measure given 
up to my own foolish rebellious heart. Dress, 
novels, plays, cards, assemblies, and balls, took 
up the most of my time, so that my mother began 
to fear the consequences of my living so much 
above my station in life. But I would not now 
listen to her admonitions. I loved pleasures, and 
after them I would go. 

What increased my vanity and pride was, that 
I was much beloved by my godmother, a lady of 
very considerable fortune, and often spent most 
of the summer months at Adlington with her ; 
where I was always treated as if she intended 
to bestow a handsome fortune on me. She in- 
troduced me into the company of those in high 
life, and enabled me, by large presents, to dress 
in a manner suitable to such company. O how 
fatal in general are such prospects to a young 
mind ! Yet in all this, I still wished to preserve 
a religious appearance. I still frequented church 
and sacraments, still prayed night and morning, 
fasted sometimes, and especially in Lent ; and 
because I did these things, esteemed myself a 
far better Christian than my neighbours. Yea, 
so blind was I, that I had a better opinion now 
of my own goodness than formerly, when I was 
far more earnest about salvation. What a proof 
that sin darkens the understanding [ 

In the summer of 1773, I was at Adlington 
with my godmother above mentioned ; when I 
heard various accounts of a clergyman whom 



MRh. ULSTER ANN ROGERS. 17 

my uncle Roe had recommended to be curate 
at Macclesfield, and who was said to be a Me- 
thodist. This conveyed to my mind as unpleasing 
an idea of him, as if he had been called a Romish 
priest ; being fully persuaded that to be a Method- 
ist was to be all that was vile under a mask of 
piety. These prejudices were owing to the false 
stories which from time to time I heard repeated 
to my father, when about seven or eight years 
old ; and also many more which my mother 
heard after his death, and to the present time : 
so that I believed their teachers were the false 
prophets spoken of in the Scripture : that they 
deceived the illiterate, and were little better than 
common pickpockets ; that they filled some of 
their hearers with presumption, and drove others 
to despair : that with respect to their doctrines, 
they enforced chiefly, that whosoever embraced 
their tenets, which they called faith, might live 
as they pleased, in all sin, and be sure of salva- 
tion : and that all the world besides must be 
damned without remedy : that they had dark 
meetings, and pretended to cast out devils, with 
many other things equally false and absurd ; but 
all of which I believed. I heard also, that this 
new clergyman preached against all my favourite 
diversions, such as going to plays, reading nov- 
els, attending balls, assemblies, card-tables, &c. 
But I resolved he should not make a convert of 
me ; and that if I found him, on my return home, 
such as was represented, I would not go often to 
hear him. 

When 1 came back to Macclesfield, the whole 



18 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

amusement any longer. And can I give it up? 
My vile heart replied, I cannot, I will not. The 
Spirit of God whispered, Will you then indulge 
yourself in what you know to be sin ? Would 
you wish to be struck dead in the ball room ? 
My conflict was great, yet I was resolved to run 
all hazards rather than give up this pleasure. 
Therefore I stifled these convictions with all my 
might ; and after this ran more eagerly than ever 
into all pleasurable follies. Oh my patient, long 
suffering God, tears of grateful love and praise 
overflow mine eyes, when I consider my deep 
.rebellion, and thy sparing mercy. 

About this time I grew tired of novels, and 
took great delight in reading history. I went 
through several English and Roman histories, 
Rollin's Ancient History, and Stackhouse's His- 
tory of the Bible, intending to go through the 
Universal History also. And now I believed my- 
self far wiser than any person of my age. Upon 
the whole, I believe I w r as at this time on the 
pinnacle of destruction. And had a just and 
holy God then cut the brittle thread of life, I 
know I should have sunk into hell. But love 
had swifter wings than death, and mercy to my 
rescue flew. 

In October, 1773, a neighbour of my mother's 
being very ill, and very poor, I went to visit her, 
and found her, to my great surprise, joyfully tri- 
umphing over death, yea, longing to be gone. — 
This affected me much ; for I felt I was in a 
quite different state ; that if death should ap* 
prpach me, he would be a king of terrors, An& 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 19 

I had no hopes of happiness beyond the grave. 
About this time also, Mr. Simpson's sermons be- 
gan to sink more deeply into my heart. So great 
were my obstinacy and folly, that I would come 
out of the church weeping, and with the next 
person I met, would ridicule the sermon that af- 
fected me, lest I should be thought or called a 
Methodist. I began, however, in my serious 
moments, to resolve again and again I would 
break off my sins by true repentance ; and espe- 
cially that I would dance no more. Yet time after 
time I was prevailed on by my carnal friends, 
and broke the promises I had made to my God. 
January the first, 1774, I was deeply wrought 
upon by a sermon preached on, " What shall it 
profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose 
his own soul ?" And soon after, under another, 
on the Epistle to the church of Laodicea. Again, 
while Mr. Simpson preached on the new birth, 
from John iii, 3, I saw, and felt as I had never 
done before, that I must experience that divine 
change, or perish. But I had still one great 
hinderance which I have not yet mentioned, 
namely, a young person, for whom I had a sin- 
cere affection : he and two of his sisters, with 
whom I had also formed a strict intimacy from 
the death of my father, were my constant com- 
panions ; and were more seriously disposed than 
any of the rest. However, I was sensible, if I 
renounced my pleasures, and became what God 
and my own conscience now required, I must, 
in the first place, give him up, and that fully ; 
or he would be the means of drawing me back ; 



20 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS, 

for he was yet unawakened, though outwardly 
moral. 

But I could not yet make this sacrifice. 
Therefore I continued to go to assemblies, though 
conscience bled ; and often in the midst of the 
dance, I felt as miserable as a creature could be, 
with a sense of guilt, and fears of death and hell. 
Sometimes those words were applied, " It is hard 
for thee to kick against the pricks." And in- 
deed so I felt it. Yet I would not acknowledge 
my unhappiness to any, but carried it oif with 
the appearance of gayety ; and at the last as- 
sembly I ever attended, never sat down the whole 
night, but danced till four o'clock in the morning. 
Soon after this, however, the Lord wrought a 
much deeper work upon my soul. 

In April, 1774, on the Sunday before Easter, 
Mr. Simpson preached from John vi, 44, " No 
man can come unto me, except the Father which 
hath sent me draw him." Explaining the draw- 
ings of the Father, he related his own experience, 
under the name of Eusebius, brought up in all 
moral duties, an attendant on church and sacra- 
ment, and one who said many prayers. Yet 
when twenty-two years old, was deeply con- 
vinced he had never been a Christian. Could 
then say feelingly, what he had often before re- 
peated in words only, " The remembrance of my 
sins is grievous unto me : The burden of them 
is intolerable." — [All this sunk into my very 
soul ; this was just my case.] He mourned, 
and wept, and prayed ! And one day as he was 
in prayer, and had such a view of his past sin* 






MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 21 

fulness, and present guilt and pollution, as almost 
deprived him of all hope, the Lord suddenly re- 
moved his burden, and spoke pardon and peace 
to his soul, so that he felt his sins were all for- 
given. Lord, said I, if this is truth, (and I can- 
not disbelieve it,) never let me rest till I obtain a 
like blessing. He went on to observe the nature 
of this change, and the objections made in our 
day to this doctrine of the new birth. One of 
these objections he dwelt upon, viz : " We are 
born again when baptized ;" but proved, if it were 
even so, we must still repent anew, and be for- 
given, since all have broken the baptismal vow. 
Then he appealed to each ; " Have you re- 
nounced the devil and all his works, the pomps 
and vanities of this wicked world, with every 
sinful desire?" while I could only plead guilty, 
guilty. " Have you never taken the name of 
God in vain? never profaned his Sabbaths? 
never set up idols in your heart ? If you have 
done these things, you have broken the first four 
commandments of God." I pleaded guilty here 
also : for though with respect to the third, I could 
not accuse myself of profanely swearing, or even 
naming my Maker in conversation, as many do ; 
yet this prohibition also condemned me, in having 
taken the name of God in vain into my polluted 
lips in his house of worship, and appearing be- 
fore men engaged in devotion, while my heart 
was wandering to the ends of the earth. As he 
passed through the rest of the commandments, I 
could still plead nothing but guilty. And when 
in the application of his sermon he asked, " Now 



22 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

what think you of the state of your souls before 
God?" I felt myself indeed a lost, perishing, 
undone sinner : a rebel against repeated convic- 
tions and drawings : a rebel against light and 
knowledge ; a condemned criminal by the law of 
God, who deserved to be sentenced to eternal 
pain ! I felt I had broken my baptismal vow • 
my confirmation vow ; my sacramental vows , 
and had no title to claim any mercy, any hope, 
any plea ! I wept aloud, so that all around me 
were amazed ; nor was I any longer ashamed to 
own the cause. I w r ent home, ran up stairs, and 
fell on my knees ; and made a solemn vow r to 
renounce and forsake all my sinful pleasures and 
trifling companions. 

I slept not that night : but arose early next 
morning, and without telling my mother, took all 
my finery, high-dressed caps, &c, &c, and rip- 
ped them all up, so that I could wear them no 
more ; then cut my hair short, that it might not 
be in my own power to have it dressed, and in 
the most solemn manner vowed never to dance 
again ! I could do nothing now but bewail my 
own sinfulness, and cry for mercy. I could not 
eat, or sleep, or take any comfort. The curses 
throughout the whole Bible seemed pointed all at 
me ; and I could not claim a single promise. I 
saw my whole life had been nothing but sin and 
rebellion against my Creator, Redeemer, and 
Sanctifier ; and I feared it was now too late to 
seek mercy. 

Thus I continued till Good Friday. My mo- 
ther thought I was losing my senses, and all my 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 23 

friends endeavoured to comfort me in vain. After 
many conflicts and strong fears, I ventured, how- 
ever, once more to approach the Lord's table, 
encouraged by these words, " A broken and a 
contrite heart, God, thou wilt not despise." 

As Mr. Simpson was reading that sentence in 
the communion service, " If any man sin, we 
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ 
the righteous ; and he is the propitiation for our 
sins," a ray of divine light and comfort was 
darted on my soul, and I cried, Lord Jesus, let 
me feel thou art the propitiation for my sins. I 
was enabled to believe there was mercy for me ; 
and I, even I, should be saved ! I felt love to 
God spring up in my heart, and in a measure 
could rejoice in him, so that I would have given 
all the world to have died that moment. But, 
alas, this was only for a short season ! In the 
evening one of my cousins calling on me, who 
had been a witness to my late distress, I told her 
of the comfort I had received, and added, I am 
now not afraid to die. She immediately ex- 
claimed, it would be great presumption to say so, 
for even Mr. Simpson, whom she believed the 
best man on earth, said he deserved to go to hell. 
My joy was damped immediately ; and Satan 
telling me 1 had deceived myself; I gave up my 
confidence, lost my peace, and became again 
very unhappy. 

It had been well for me if I had then known 
the Methodists ; but I had none to instruct me. 
Yet my distress was not the same as before. I 
had now a ray of hope in God, that he would 



24 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

make me a new creature by grace ; and those 
horrible and slavish fears of heil were removed. 
I felt my nature all depraved, and my soul full 
of wounds, and bruised by sin. Yea, and I ab- 
horred myself, truly repenting before my God, 
and seeking him with my whole heart, in every 
means of grace. I had never yet heard the 
Methodists ; nor had I lost all my prejudices 
against them ; but a neighbour who had lately 
found peace with God, advised me strongly to 
go, and assured me they had been the means of 
great blessings to his soul. I would not promise, 
but resolved to go privately, so that neither the 
preacher, nor any other person, should know of 
it till afterward. I soon after went at five o'clock 
one morning, and got into a private seat. Mr. 
Samuel Bardsley preached, from " Comfort ye, 
comfort ye, my people, saith your God." 1 
thought every word was for me ! He spoke to 
my heart as if he had known all the secret work- 
ings there ; and pointed all such sinners as I felt 
myself to be, to Jesus crucified. I was much 
comforted ; my prejudices were now fully re- 
moved, and I received a full and clear convic- 
tion, " These are the people .of God, and show," 
in truth, " the way of salvation." 

But now I had new difficulties to encounter : 
I knew if I persisted in hearing the Methodists, 
I must literally give up all. My mothor had 
already threatened, if ever she knew me to hear 
them she would disown me. Every friend and 
relation I had in the world, I had reason to be- 
lieve^ would do the same. I had no acquaint- 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 25 

Alice then among the Methodists to take me in ; 
nor knew any refuge to fly to but my God. I 
used much prayer, and entreated him to show 
me his will ; when those words were powerfully 
applied, " Did ever any trust in the Lord, and 
was confounded ?" I answered, No, Lord, and 
I will trust thee ! But Satan suggested, " Thou 
hast no right to trust God : thou art not his child, 
but a sinner, a rebel !" I fell on my knees, and 
cried, " Lord, I am a repenting sinner, and thou 
knowest I have laid down my weapons of rebel- 
lion ! If I perish, I will perish at thy feet ! 
Only show me thy will, and here I am." It was 
then applied, " If any man will come after me, 
let him deny himself, and take up his cross and 
follow me." I cried, u Lord, I will forsake all, 
and follow thee : I will joyfully bear thy cross ; 
only give me thyself!" From that time I re- 
solved I would at all hazards attend the preach- 
ing. I did so at all opportunities, and it was a 
great comfort to me. 

But when my mother heard of it, a floodgate 
of persecution opened upon me ! In this time 
of need God raised me up a friend in my uncle 
Roe, who prevented my mother turning me out 
of doors. Yet what I suffered, sometimes through 
her tears and entreaties, and at other times her 
severity, is known only to God. But he strength- 
ened a feeble worm, and enabled me to endure 
all with meekness, as seeing him who is invisible. 
For eight weeks, however, I was closely con- 
fined. My godmother came to talk with me, so 
did my mother's brother, and my father's sister ; 



26 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

also a clergyman, and several others ; but the 
Lord gave me a mouth and wisdom to plead my 
own cause, with arguments from his word, so 
that they were in some measure all put to silence. 
In August, my mother took me with her to Ad- 
lington, on our usual summer's visit, though now 
quite contrary to my inclination ; for I found it 
a great grief to be separated from the means of 
grace, and from the dear people of God. Yet 
I dared not refuse her all obedience, which I 
could render with a safe conscience. And 
though I believe she hoped to wean me from 
(what she called) my melancholy and enthusi- 
asm, hereby, yet the Lord kept me steadfast and 
immoveable. The deep sense I had of my own 
weakness and inability to resist evil, or follow 
that which is good ; and the great fears I had 
of ever again grieving the Holy Spirit, lest he 
should strive with me no more for ever, con- 
vinced me of the absolute need of using much 
and constant prayer. I therefore left all com- 
pany many times in a day, to retire in secret. 
I refused to conform in dress, or in any thing my 
conscience disapproved ; and when called upon, 
gave reasons for my conduct as the Lord en- 
abled me ; but always with meekness, and often 
with tears of self-abasement ; so that in a little 
time, rinding all their efforts vain, they began 
to let me alone ; only I was made to under- 
stand I had now nothing to expect from my god- 
mother, as to temporal things. This, however, 
weighed nothing with me, as all my language 
was, 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 27 

"None but Christ to me be given, 
None but Christ in earth or heaven." 

In October we returned home, and I now rea- 
soned with my mother, and entreated her not 
to confine me any more ; telling her in humility, 
and yet plainness, I must seek salvation to my 
soul, whatever is the consequence. And in 
order to obtain the end, I must use the means. 
I am therefore determined to leave you, and go 
to be a servant, rather than be kept from the 
Methodists. Yet if you will consent to it, I 
should greatly prefer continuing in your house, 
though it should be as your servant : and I am 
willing to undertake all the work of the house, 
if you will only suffer me to attend preaching. 
She listened to my proposals ; and after consult- 
ing with her friends, consented to comply on 
this last condition : for she and they were agreed 
that I, who had never been accustomed to hard 
labour, would soon be weary, and give it up. 
But they knew not the power and goodness of 
that God who had strengthened me in all my 
tribulation. 

November the first, I entered upon my new 
employments joyfully ; undertaking my every 
labour for His sake who bled for me on Calva- 
ry ! and began to feel at times much comfort, 
and reviving hopes, that my redemption drew 
near ; and the happy hour when I should praise 
a pardoning God. Mr. Wesley's Sermon on 
Justification was a great encouragement to me 
on those words, " To him that worketh not, but 
believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his 



28 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS* 

faith is imputed to him for righteousness." This 
sermon I read many times over with prayer, and 
could sometimes almost embrace the promises. 

On Monday, November 10th, I had strong 
conflicts with Satan, who told me I had as good 
give up all, for I should never obtain a pardon ! 
I had sinned beyond hope ! I felt my heart very 
hard, and he suggested, " This is a proof that 
God has given thee up to hardness and impeni- 
tence. Where is thy repentance and tears, and 
brokenness of heart 1 If thou couldst repent, and 
weep, and mourn, like others, there would be 
hope. But where is thy sorrow for sin ? Thou 
canst not shed a tear." I was so burdened and 
distressed that day, that I could not go forward 
with my work, and my mother reproached me. 
But I besieged the throne of grace with strong 
crying and supplications, to Him that was able 
to save, and who well knew the Spirit's groan- 
ing in my heart. 

My cousin Charles Roe, then much devoted 
to God, put into my hands a little pamphlet, 
entitled, The Great Duty on believing on the 
Son of God." Jesus was here set forth in all 
his loveliness of free grace, toward a poor re- 
turning prodigal, as every way suited to the sin- 
ner's wants, and all sufficient to save the vilest 
of the vile. As willing now, even as willing as 
when he hung on Calvary, bleeding and dying 
to save sinners : yea, his very murderers ! I was 
much encouraged in reading this, and would 
gladly have spent the night in prayer : but my 
mother (with whom I slept) would not suffer iU 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 29 

I therefore went to bed, but could not sleep : 
and at four in the morning rose again, that 1 
might wrestle with the Lord. I prayed, but it 
seemed in vain. I walked to and fro, groaning 
for mercy, then fell again on my knees : but the 
heavens appeared as brass, and hope seemed al- 
most sunk into despair : when suddenly the Lord 
spake that promise to my heart, " Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." I 
revived, and cried, " Lord, I know this is thy 
word, and I can depend on it. But what is 
faith ? O show me how to believe : show me 
what is the Gospel faith, or I am yet undone. 
I desire not deliverance except in thy own way : 
I desire no happiness, but thy favour. What 
shall I do ? teach me, O help me, or I am 
lost !" That word came with divine evidence 
and sweetness to my heart, " Cast all thy care 
upon him, for he careth for thee." I said, " Lord, 
dost thou care for me 1 and is this faith, to cast 
all my care, even all my sins, (for I have no 
other care,) upon thee ? May I ? Dost thou 
bid me 1 a poor hell-deserving sinner ; a sinner 
against light, and conviction, and repeated vows ; 
can such love dwell in thee ? Is it not too easy 
a way ? May I, even I, be saved, if I only cast 
my soul on Jesus ? My burden of sin, my load 
of guilt, my every crime ? What, saved from 
all this guilt ; saved into the favour of God ! the 
holy God ! and become his child ; and that row, 
this moment ! O it is too great, — it cannot, 
surely it cannot be !" (O what a struggle had 
Satan and unbelief with my helpless, sinful soul !) 



30 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

But the Lord applied, " Fear not, only believe !" 
Satan suggested, Take care ! Suppose Jesus 
Christ should fail thee ; suppose he is not God ! 
What if he was an impostor, as the Jews be- 
lieve ! O the agony that my soul felt at that 
moment ! But I cried, " If this be so, I am un- 
done without remedy ! None but such a Saviour 
as Jesus declares himself to be, (God as well 
as man,) can save my guilty, polluted soul. The 
blood of God-man alone can atone for me ! His 
power alone can change my rebel heart ; my 
disease is too deep for any other ; I can only 
perish, nothing can be worse ; so there is no 
hazard. If he is God, he is able, and he will 
save me according to his promise," " Come unto 
me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and 
I will give you rest." If he is God, he must be 
truth, and cannot deceive me. And if not, a 
holy God will be a consuming fire to the sinner ! 
And there is no Saviour, no way of salvation ; 
I must endure the desert of my sins ; I must en- 
dure everlasting burnings ; and therefore here I 
will lie and perish at his feet ! Again it came, 
" Only believe." " Lord Jesus," said I, « I will, 
I do believe ; I now venture my whole salvation 
upon thee as God ! I put my guilty soul into 
thy hands, thy blood is sufficient ! I cast my 
soul upon thee, for time and eternity." Then 
did he appear to my salvation. In that moment 
my fetters were broken ; my hands were loosed ; 
and my soul set at liberty. The love of God 
was shed abroad in my heart ; and I rejoiced 
with joy unspeakable. Now, if I had possessed 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 31 

ten thousand souls I could have ventured them 
all with my Jesus. I would have given them 
all to him ! I felt a thousand promises all my 
own ; more than a thousand scriptures to con- 
firm my evidence ; — such as, " He that believeth 
shall be saved : — Shall not perish : — Is not con- 
demned : — Hath everlasting life : — Is passed 
from death unto life : — Shall never die : — There 
is no condemnation to them that are in Christ 
Jesus :" &c, &c.^-I could now call Jesus Lord, 
by the Holy Ghost, and the Father, my Father. 
My sins were gone, my soul was happy ; and I 
longed to depart and be with Jesus. I was 
truly a new creature, and seemed to be in a new 
world ! I could do nothing but love and praise 
my God ; and could not refrain continually re- 
peating, thou art my Father ! O God, thou art my 
God ! whilst tears of joy ran down my cheeks. 
My mother was astonished at the change 
which appeared in my countenance and whole 
deportment : and I soon told her the happy 
cause : — that I, a poor sinner, had received for- 
giveness, and could call God my Father and my 
Friend. Now, said I, I am repaid a thousand 
times for all I have suffered. One hour's ex- 
perience of what I now feel, is, itself, rich amends 
for all ! But I see an eternity of bliss before ! 
and added, Oh that you knew what I feel. My 
words and flowing tears made her weep : but 
she said little, being all wonder. With what joy 
and gratitude did I now undergo the most servile 
of all my employments ; yea, and it seemed with 
double strength of body, though I could neither 



32 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

eat nor sleep much for many days and nights. 
The love of God shed abroad in my heart, was 
now my meat and drink : and the thoughts of 
the amazing depths of grace which had plucked 
me as a brand from the burning, quite overcame 
me !— Me, the most obstinate offender, who had 
so long and so repeatedly resisted, and grieved 
his Holy Spirit ! This love of my God and 
Saviour, so unmerited and free, overflowed my 
soul : nor had I for eight months any interrup- 
tion to my bliss. 

" Not a cloud did arise, to darken the skies, 
Or hide for a moment my Lord from my eyes." 

Yet I had daily crosses to take up and endure ; 
but I rejoiced in being accounted worthy to bear 
the cross for Him who died to purchase my peace. 
The word of God was sweeter than honey, or 
the honeycomb. I generally read it on my 
knees : ever receiving light, strength, and com- 
fort to my hungry soul hereby. 

About six months after this, my cousin Robert 
Roe came from Manchester, to go to the college 
in Oxford ; being intended for a clergyman. 
The great change in me was matter of much 
grief to him. But what most astonished him, 
was to find me, instead of being melancholy and 
mopish, always happy and rejoicing in God ; re- 
signed to sufferings and labours, which he well 
knew I could not once have submitted to. He 
saw my pride laid in the dust ; and my soul sunk 
into humility. In short, he saw me the reverse 
of all I had been before; and comparing my 
present conduct with the Scriptures, he was con- 



I 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 33 

strained to own the power of changing grace : 
was convinced by the Spirit of God that I was 
right, and of consequence, that he was not what 
he ought to be, and what he must be if ever he 
was saved. He soon became so unhappy that 
he had no rest, and at last wrote to me, entreat- 
ing for his soul's sake, I would answer him the 
following questions : " How did you obtain the 
happiness you speak of? Are you certain it is 
real and from God ; and not a delusion, or ima- 
gination only ? Does it arise from an express 
declaration from God ; or a consciousness of 
having performed your duty ? Is it some visible 
manifestation you enjoy, or some hoped happi- 
ness ? I know I am a great sinner ! I am mise- 
rable beyond expression ; and can hardly hope 
for any thing but misery in time, or in eternity ? 
I would give up all the world to obtain the 
favour of God you speak of, but I know not 
which way to attain it. If you can lead me in 
the heavenly path, you will render me happy 
indeed. Oh ! pray for your unhappy friend, 
<kc. R. R." 

These lines appearing the genuine language 
of sincerity, I wrote immediately in answer, a 
brief relation of all the Lord's dealings with my 
soul ; inviting him to the same loving and all- 
sufficient Saviour. I advised him to hear the 
Methodists, and go to class meeting ; in which 
he found much comfort, and advanced in grace 
daily ; desiring and seeking nothing but Jesus 
crucified. And, on October 17th, 1775, a few 
weeks only before he went to Oxford, the Lord 
3 



24 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS* 

set his soul at liberty : and he rejoiced in a clear 
sense of his pardoning love. [The reader may 
find a more particular account of the life, trials, 
experience, and triumphant death of this Israelite 
indeed, in whom was no guile, in the Arminian 
Magazine for the years 1783 and 1784, vols, vi,, 
vii.] But to return. 

About seven months after I undertook to be 
servant to my mother, she was seized with a 
fever, and when just recovering, had a relapse 
which threatened to be fatal : so that for near 
six weeks I had to sit up with her every other 
night.; till at last my body began to fail. Indeed 
it w f as no wonder ; for besides all my labour and 
fatigue, I used rigorous fasting. The doctor who 
attended my mother, was moved with compas- 
sion, and insisted I should no longer go on with 
what he called sacrificing my life. He spoke 
to Mrs. Legh, my godmother, who came next 
day in her chariot to see my mother, and to see 
that a proper servant, and all needful attendants, 
should be got immediately. I was now freed 
from my happy toil, about eight months after I 
undertook it ; namely, in August, 1775. But 
it was then nearly too late ; my health had re- 
ceived such a wound, as it did not recover in 
many years. 

My outward oppositions now began to abate ; 
and many of my enemies were at peace with 
me. And now also the Lord began to reveal in 
my heart, that sin was not all destroyed : for 
though I had constant victory over it, yet I felt 
the remains of anger, pride, self-will and un- 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 35 

belief often rising, which occasioned a degree 
of heaviness and sorrow. At first, I was much 
amazed to feel such things, and often tempted to 
think I had lost a measure of grace : yet when I 
looked to my Lord, or whenever I approached 
him in secret, he shed his precious love abroad, 
and bare witness also with my spirit, that I was 
still his child. Yea, and at this time, I received 
many remarkable answers to prayer, many proofs 
of his undoubted love and goodness to my soul : 
•and I ever felt I would rather die than offend 
him, so that I was a mystery to myself! I re- 
solved, however, to use more self-denial of ail 
kinds, and (whatever it cost me with respect to 
health or life) more fasting and prayer : for I 
hoped by these means to mortify and starve the 
evil tempers and propensities of my nature, till 
they should exist no more ; and if my body ex- 
pired in the combat, I thought I was certain of 
endless life. I met with some also who told me, 
nothing but death would end this strife ! That 
this is the Christian's warfare, w r hich cannot end 
but with the life of the body. After some time 
I began to believe these miserable comforters, 
and of consequence, longed for nothing so much 
as to die : yea, I was impatient to be gone, that 
I might be freed from sin ; for I truly felt, and 
more so every day, 

" 'Twas worse than death my God to love, 
And not my God alone." 

My body was reduced now to a very weak 
state, and I was pronounced far gone in a con- 
sumption, which I esteemed blessed tidings. I 



36 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS, 

looked on myself as one that had done with 
earth ; and cried, " O that I had wings like a 
dove, for then I would flee away and be at rest.' 5 
Yea, so desirous was I to quit the vale of sin (as 
I called it) here below, that I could not be pre- 
vailed on to take any thing which I believed 
would tend to restore my health, and therefore 
continued to decline very swiftly. In the latter 
end of December, I was brought so weak that 
I could not walk about the room without help, 
and soon after took my bed, seeming apparently 
on the verge of eternity. One day, after sitting 
up a little, I felt myself so weak, that I believed 
I should rise no more, till my soul took its flight 
to the bosom of Jesus. My joy on this occasion 
was inexpressible ! I begged of the Lord strength 
to go on my knees once more ; and in holy tri- 
umph committed body and soul to him for eter- 
nity. I believed my work on earth quite finished ; 
and was filled with assurance that the moment 
of death would be to me the beginning of end- 
less glory. A taste of which I then felt, a drop 
out of the ocean ; a beam darted from the un- 
clouded Sun of righteousness, which quite pene- 
trated and overwhelmed my soul, and left me in 
speechless rapture at his feet ! yes, I have ever 
believed that what I then felt, was what those 
feel and experience on leaving the body, who are 
really dying in the Lord ! But infinite wisdom 
saw good to lengthen out the thread of life ; and 
I have often believed, it was in answer to the 
prayers of his dear children. 

A few weeks after this, I felt a degree of dis- 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 37 

appointment and sorrow, on rinding a measure 
of returning strength : just like a mariner, who, 
got within sight of a desired port, is beat back 
again into a tempestuous ocean. One of my 
cousins coming to see me, recommended a 
strengthening medicine, which I was unwilling 
to use, and told him, I would rather die than 
live. He sharply rebuked me for this ; saying, 
you set up your own will, while you pretend to 
submit to the will of God, and by not taking 
proper medicines you are a murderer ! I wept 
and said, I think I am resigned. He asked, are 
you willing to live forty years, if the Lord please ? 
I found a shrinking at the thought, and felt I 
could not at that moment say I was willing. 
He left me, but his words made a deep impres- 
sion. I fell on my knees as soon as left alone, 
and cried, Lord, perfectly subdue my will. — 
That promise was applied with much sweetness, 
" Ask w r hat thou wilt and it shall be done unto 
thee." I felt assuredly, my Lord permitted me 
to ask life or death, and was brought to a stand. 
I felt a thousand fears suggested, that if I lived, 
I might lose what I now enjoyed of the love of 
God ; and perhaps be one day a dishonour to his 
cause. But I said, Lord, thy grace is ever suf- 
ficient ; thou art as able to keep me a thousand 
years as one day ! Again it was suggested, if 
thou livest it will be to suffer. I cried, Lord, 
thou canst give me suffering grace, and if by 
suffering, I can in any wise glorify thee, " Not 
as I will, but as thou wilt." I know to die now 
would be instant glory ! But here I am ; do with 



38 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

me whatever thou wilt ! thou knowest all things, 
and seest at one glance, past, present, and future. 
One request only, therefore, will I make ; if thou 
knowest my life would glorify thee, I submit to 
thy will ; willing to suffer, or to do ! But, if thou 
foreseest 1 should in living, lose any measure of 
what thou hast bestowed, Lord, suffer me not to 
live any longer. Or, if hereafter, at any time, 
thou seest a danger of my heart departing from 
thee, O snatch me to thy bosom ; and let me not 
live a moment longer than I live wholly for thee. 
And now, O Lord my God, I vow and promise 
unto thee, I will henceforth entirely renounce 
my own will respecting life or death ! I leave it 
fully in thy hands and to thy pleasure, to take me 
now, or to spare me twenty, thirty, yea, forty 
years ; or as long as thou seest my life will bring 
glory to thee, and profit to immortal souls ; re- 
lying on thy faithful promise given me this day, 
that what " I ask shall be done ;" and account- 
ing it a solemn covenant betwixt me and thee ! 
that whensoever thou seest me about to be over- 
come by trials, by temptations, or snares, so that 
I shall in heart or life depart from thee, or wound 
thy cause ; that then thou wilt put in thy sickle, 
and gather me home ; yea, if even at that time 
I should be so foolish as to desire life ! — Amen 
and amen. What I felt of heaven, of God, of 
love, at that season, cannot be expressed. I had 
communion with my Lord, as if face to face ; 
and could henceforth choose nothing but his will. 
From this day forth I speedily recovered 
strength ; and in a few weeks was enabled to 



IttnS. HESTER ANN TvOUEES. St> 

attend sonic of the means of grace. The Lord 
was pleased to make the preaching of Dr. Wright 
a great blessing to me. He clearly explained 
the nature of salvation from inbred sin : showed 
it to be as freely promised in Scripture, and as 
fully purchased by the blood of Jesus, as pardon- 
Also, that though sanetirlcation in believers is a 
gradual work, yet the death of sin is instanta- 
neous, and to be obtained by faith alone ; just in 
like manner as justification. He recommended Mr. 
Wesley's Plain Account, and Farther Thoughts 
on Christian Perfection ; and Mr. Fletcher's Po- 
lemical Essay, especially his Address in the end 
of it, to imperfect believers. These yet farther 
opened my eyes respecting that great salvation ; 
and for reading them I shall praise God to all 
eternity. I now was powerfully convinced, that 
whenever sin is totally destroyed, it is done in a 
moment. From hence I could not rest, but cried 
lo the Lord night and day, to cast out the strong 
man, and all his armour of unbelief and sin : 
assured that the power of the living God, and 
not death, must be the executioner ! The blood 
of Jesus the procuring cause ; and faiih the only 
instrument. I had a deeper sense of rny im- 
purity than ever ; and though by grace I was 
restrained from giving way outwardly, yet I felt 
such inward impatience, pride, fret fulness, and 
in short, every ill temper, that at times I could 
truly say, I was weary and heavy laden. 



40 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

I here transcribe a brief extract from my 
journal, kept at the time, as it will most clearly 
describe the language of my heart. 

Thursday, January 18th, 1776, I was much 
comforted by a manifest answer to prayer. 
Afterward, reading three of Mr. Fletcher's Let- 
ters to his Parishioners, was a great blessing, 
Yet in the evening I found many wanderings, 
and much deadness ; I felt dissatisfied with my- 
self, and all around me, and knew not why. It 
might in some measure be owing to the indis- 
position of my body, but I fear it was more 
owing to the evil of my corrupt heart. O when 
shall I be holy ? 

Friday, 19. — I have been greatly tried in- 
wardly and outwardly, though I have had some 
refreshing visits of love ; but I feel many evil 
tempers, much self-will that w r ould not be con- 
tradicted, (though none saw it but the Lord ;) 
peevishness, pride, and unbelief greatly distressed 
me. My cry was this evening, c< Create in me 
a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit 
within me." And in private prayer I was 
blessed in a wonderful manner. I lay at the feet 
of my Lord, as clay in the hands of the potter, 
only beseeching him to stamp me with his lovely 
image. 

Thursday, 25. — The Lord shows me more 
than ever, I must be made holy before death : 
and this day I can say, " As the hart paiiteth 
after the water brook,'' so thirsteth my soul for 
the perfect love of God. O may I never rest 
till I have received this blessing. Lord, I have 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 41 

in this respect been a trifler ; I have been too 
easy, too lukewarm, while thy enemies have had 
a lurking place in my heart ! O forgive me, 
and help me to be more in earnest. Those 
words were applied, while engaged in wrestling 
prayer, " All I have is thine !" And is not this 
salvation from sin His gift ? It is, and shall be 
mine. 

" O joyful sound of Gospel grace, 
Christ shall in me appear ; 
I, even I, shall see his face, 
I shall be holy here." 

Saturday, 27. — Mr. Wesley's Plain Account 
of Christian Perfection, was this day a greater 
blessing than before : O how very ignorant, how- 
stupid have I been, respecting this great salva- 
tion ; and even yet I seem to know nothing. 
Lord, teach me, and save me fully. I find while 
pressing after entire purity, my communion with 
God increases, and I have more power to do his 
will. 

Friday, February 2. — I awoke several times 
in the night, praying for sanctification. O the 
depth of unbelief and of pride ! And these seem 
only the roots of many other evil branches. O 
my God, I feel my heart as a den of thieves. 
I loathe myself, but Oh ! I fall — a leper at thy 
feet. I believe " the blood of Jesus Christ 
cleanseth from all sin." But when I would 
come to the fountain, I seem all ignorance and 
helplessness. O Lord, teach and strengthen me, 
for thy mercies' sake ! 

Saturday, 3. — I have had deep communion 



42 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

with my God, and much power at a throne of 
grace. I have a clear evidence of his pardoning 
love, and want nothing but his whole image 
stamped on my heart. 

Thursday, 8. — I was greatly comforted this 
morning in spreading open the word of God on 
my knees, and praying for a conformity to it. 
I opened on 1 Thess. v, 16-ult. I see what is 
there required, in the very salvation my soul 
needs. O how is it summed up in that prayer 
of the Apostle, " Now the very God of peace 
sanctify you wholly : and I pray God your 
whole spirit and soul and body, be preserved 
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." And would St. Paul pray for what 
they could not obtain ? Oh no ! he believed 
that they should be both sanctified and preserved 
blameless ; for he says, " Faithful is he who hath 
called you, and who also will do it." Amen, 
Lord ! Let me, thy worthless creature, prove 
this word for Jesus' sake. 

On the morning of February 22, I awoke 
poorly in body, and felt a strange hardness on 
my heart, and a great backwardness to private 
prayer. Satan told me, if I prayed, it would 
be only solemn mockery ; for my body would so 
weigh down my soul, that while my words flew 
up, my thoughts would remain below, and I 
should obtain no blessing. But I cried, " Lord, 
help me," and fell instantly on my knees ; for a 
few moments my ideas were all distraction ; but 
the mighty God spoke to the troubled ocean, 
" Peace, be still!" and there followed a great 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 43 

calm throughout my soul. My intercourse was 
now opened with my beloved, and various pro- 
mises presented to my believing view. I thought, 
shall I now ask small blessings only of my God ? 
Lord, cried I, make this the moment of my full 
salvation ! Baptize me now with the Holy 
Ghost, and the fire of pure love. Now " make 
me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit with- 
in me." Now, enter thy temple, and cast out 
sin for ever. Now, cleanse the thoughts, de- 
sires, and propensities of my heart, and let me 
perfectly love thee. But here Satan raised all 
his force of temptations to oppose me ; telling 
me, I had not been long enough justified ; I had 
more to suffer first, &c. And my ideas not 
being yet clear in the nature of this blessing, 
gave the enemy an advantage. For I thought 
when fully saved from sin, I could suffer no 
more ; feel no more pain ; make no more mis- 
takes ; my judgment and memory would be per- 
fect, and 1 should feel temptation no more ! 
Therefore this suggestion, that I had to suffer 
much first, had the more plausibility. But in 
that moment, T received light from above, and 
cried, " Lord, till my heart is renewed, I cannot 
suffer as I ought : give me perfect love, and I 
can then bear all things I" But, said Satan, if 
this blessing were given, thou wouldst soon lose 
it again, in such and such trials which lie before 
thee : get those trials past, and then come for 
this blessing. But I cried, " Lord, I cannot 
stand those trials without it. O purify my heart, 
that I may be able to stand in the trying hour I 



44 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

If I face my subtle enemies, while I have a 
traitor within, ever ready to betray me into their 
hands, how shall I be able to stand ?" But if 
that " strong man armed, be cast out with all 
his armour," how much more shall I be able to 
contend with my outward enemies ? Many other 
temptations were injected : but I cried so much 
the more, "Lord, save % me!" And the Lord 
gave me that promise, " I will circumcise thy 
heart, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart," &c. I said, " Lord, thou art 
faithful, and this is thy word, I cast my whole 
soul upon thy promise : make known thy faith- 
fulness, by performing it on my heart. Circum- 
cise it now, fill it now with thy pure love ; sanctify 
every faculty of my soul ; I offer all to thee, I 
give thee all my powers, I take thee, Almighty 
Jesus, for my wisdom, my righteousness, my 
sanctification." Now " Cleanse me from all my 
filthiness and from all my idols ; take away the 
heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh." 
I come empty to be filled ; deny me not. It 
would be for thy own glory to save me now ; for 
how much better could I serve thee ! It is true, 
I have no plea but thy mercy ! the blood of Jesus, 
thy promise, and my own great need. O save 
me fully, by an act of free grace. Thou hast 
said, " He that believeth shall be saved :" I now 
take thee at thy word : I do by faith cast my- 
self on thy promise. I venture my soul on thy 
veracity ; thou canst not deny! Being pur- 
chased by thy blood, thy justice is engaged : 
being promised without money and without 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 45 

price, thy truth is hound : thus every attribute 
of my God secures it to me. 

Ah ! why did I ever doubt his willingness, 
when he gave Jesus ! Gave him to " destroy 
the works of the devil : — to make an end of sin !" 
The hinderance lay in me, not him. He de- 
sired to make me holy, but unbelief hid it from 
my eyes ; accursed sin ! But, now, Lord, I do 
believe ; this moment thou dost save. Yea, 
Lord, my soul is delivered of her burden. I am 
emptied of all ; I am at thy feet, a helpless, 
worthless worm : but I take hold of thee as my 
fulness ! Every thing that I want, thou art. 
Thou art wisdom, strength, love, holiness : yes, 
and thou art mine ! I am conquered and subdued 
by love. Thy love sinks me into nothing ; it 
* overflows my soul. Oh, my Jesus, thou art all 
in all ! In thee I behold and feel all the fulness 
of the Godhead mine. I am now one with God ; 
the intercourse is open ; sin, inbred sin. no longer 
hinders the close communion, and God is all my 
own ! 

O the depth of solid peace my soul now felt ! 
But not so much rapturous joy as at justification. 
Jt was 

" The sacred awe, which dares not move ; 
And all the silent heaven of love !" 

Yet when I rose from my knees, Satan once 
more assaulted me with, " Thou art going to face 
various trials, and a cooling world ; thou wilt 
soon lose this blessing. " But instantly that 
scripture was given me, "He that keepeth Israel, 
neither slumbereth nor sleepeth : the Lord him- 



46 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

self is thy keeper ! It is even he that shall 
preserve thy soul : the Lord shall preserve thy 
going out and thy coming in, from this time forth 
and for evermore."—" Lord," said J, " I feel my 
own insufficiency; I can do nothing ; I can re- 
sist nothing ; hut I commit the powers of my 
soul, the avenues of my heart, to thy keeping." 
Again he graciously applied, — " Blessed is she 
that believed ; for there shall be a performance 
of those things which were told her from the 
Lord/' " My God," said I, « it is enough ! My 
soul does trust thee, and I will praise thee." 

I now walked in the unclouded light of his 
countenance ; " rejoicing evermore, praying 
without ceasing, and in every thing giving 
thanks." I resolved, however, at first, I would 
not openly declare what the Lord had wrought ; 
but it was seen in my countenance ; and when 
asked respecting it, I durst not deny the wonders 
of his love ! 1 soon found that repeating his 
goodness, confirmed my own faith more and 
more. And so did the Lord bless me in declar- 
ing it, (yea, and blessed others also,) that I was 
constrained to witness to all who feared him : 

" His blood can make the foulest clean : 
His blood avail'd for me." 

I dared not to live above a mcment at a time ; 
and that moment by faith in the Son of God. I 
never felt till now the full meaning of those 
words : " In him we live, and move, and have 
our being." And again, " I will dwell in them, 
and walk in them, and be their God : I will put 
my laws into their minds, and write them in their 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 47 

hearts." Glory be to my God, I felt it written 
there : it was no longer I that lived, but Christ 
that lived in me ! 

" Yea, Christ was all and all to me ; 
And all my heart was love." 

Friday, 23. — Glory, honour, and eternal praise, 
be to the God of love, for ever and ever ! His 
own arm hath brought salvation to my feeble, 
helpless soul. I am now wholly his ! I do love 
the Lord my God with all my heart, and soul, 
and strength. I am nothing, and Jesus is my 
all. The enemy is often suggesting, " Thou 
wilt soon lose the blessing : thou canst not stand 
long." But my heart answers, I will hang upon, 
and trust my God, as long as I have any being ; 
and I know he will supply a feeble worm with 
power ! I have also opened on many sweet 
promises to-day. I find momentarily power now 
to pray, and believe : yea, I believe by faith ! 

Saturday, 24. — Last night and this morning I 
had deep communion with my God. I feel I am 
indeed one with Christ, and Christ is one with 
me : I dwell in Christ, and Christ in me. O 
blessed union with him my soul loveth ? And 
the more I feel of his great love, the more I 
sink at his feet in humbling views of my own 
nothingness ; and here it is, I would ever lie : 
this is my own place : Jesus alone is exalted ; 
and I, a poor sinner, saved from sin ! 

Sunday, 25. — Glory be to God for the best 
Sabbath I ever knew ! My body was so very 
weak and poorly, I could not go to preaching ; 
but the Lord was with me, and gave me- fresh 



48 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

discoveries of my own emptiness and poverty, 
and of his abundant fulness. Those words were 
also powerfully applied " Now ye are clean 
through the words which I have spoken unto 
you : abide in me and I in you : as the branch 
cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the 
vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me." 
I also feel that gracious promise mine : " If ye 
abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall 
ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." 
O the condescension of God to a poor worm ! 
What a grant is this ! My soul draws near and 
humbly asks, 

" Enlarge my faith's capacity, 
Wider and yet wider still, 
Then with all that is in thee, 
My soul for ever fill." 

Thursday, 29. — I was so happy that I could 
not sleep in the night. O what deep communion 
did my soul enjoy with God ! It was, indeed, 
a foretaste of heaven itself. This morning I 
prayed for a portion of Scripture to be impressed 
on my heart, that should abide with, comfort and 
direct me all the day, and I opened on, " Know 
ye not that your bodies are the temples of the 
Holy Ghost, which is in you ; and ye are not 
your own, for ye are bought with a price ; there- 
fore glorify God with your body, and with your 
spirit, which are God's." Sweet portion ! my 
blessed Lord, I rejoice that I am thy purchased 
property, and not my own ; and to thee I gladly 
yield, body, soul, and spirit. 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 49 

March 5. — For some days it has been a sea- 
son of outward trials ; but I have enjoyed fel- 
lowship with God, and great inward comforts. 
I have ever found, when he gives peculiar grace, 
he permits it to be tried ; but I prove " as my day 
is, so is ray strength." — Yes, glorv to his name 
alone, I am more than conqueror ! and feel it 
the constant language of my heart, 

" No cross, no suffering I decline, 
Only let all my heart be thine." 

Sunday, 10. — Mr. Simpson preached from 
" The kingdom of God is not meat and drink ; 
but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the 
Holy Ghost." O ihe blessedness of this inward 
kingdom ! With streaming eyes, and heart over- 
flowing with love, I could claim this portion 
mine ; mine in possession, and mine for ever ! 
O Lord, how shall I praise thee ? 

. ** Nothing else will I know, in my journey below, 
But singing thy grace, to thy paradise go!" 

Thursday, 28. — After a blessed season of 
communion with God, in secret pray^er this 
morning, 1 went with rny mother to spend the 
day at Adlington. Every thing I saw there, in 
house or garden, contributed to fill my happy* 
soul with praise. In such and such a spot, I 
would say to myself, have I poured out my soul 
in deep distress unto the Lord ; and in such a 
place he darted a ray of comfort, and bid me 
go forward. O my Lord, what hast thou done 
for a worthless worm, since these seasons of 
weeping penitence ? Then I sowed in tears, but 
now I reap in joy. " O what shall I render unto 
4 



§0 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

.the Lord for all his benefits?" I have nothing, 
My all is thine already. A poor offering. But, 

" Poor as it is, 'tis all my store ; 
More thou shouldst have, if I had more." 

Some time after this, I called upon Sarah 
Oldham, and found her just arrived on the bor- 
ders of Canaan. It was animating to be near 
her ! She requested us to sing, 

" Gladly would I flee away ; 
Loose from earth, no longer stay ;" &c. 

When we ceased, she cried, " sweet ! O com- 

fortable ! I thank you." I asked her, "Have 

you any doubts or fears of landing safe?" She 

said, " O no ! not one doubt." I asked her a 

few other questions, -which she answ r ered to my 

great satisfaction. Two days after this, clapping 

her hands together in an ecstasy of joy, she took 

her flight to glory ! Her last words were, " My 

Lord and my God." 

On Monday, April the first, Mr. Wesley came 
to Macclesfield, and I saw and conversed with 
him for the first time. He behaved to me with 
parental tenderness, and greatly rejoiced in the 
Lord's goodness to my soul ; encouraged me to 
hold fast, and to declare what the Lord had 
wrought. On Wednesday morning he set off 
for Manchester. He thinks me consumptive ; 
but welcome life, or welcome death, for Christ 
is mine. 

Tuesday, June 4. — I find great weakness of 
body, but much of the Divine presence, and re ? 
signed longings for immortality. I was at five 
o'clock preaching this morning, and there the 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 51 

Lord shed his love abroad, and all day I have 
had such a solemn nearness to him, as I cannot 
describe. I called on one who, in the arms of 
death, is rejoicing in redeeming love. Her will 
perfectly resigned, and her evidence clear for a 
glorious eternity. What a sight ! O Jesus, this is 
thy victory ! O Satan, how art thou conquered ! 

Tuesday, July 6. — My weakness of body 
seems to increase ; and so does my union with 
Him my soul loveth. I was so happy in the 
night, that I had little sleep, and awoke several 
times, with those words deeply impressed, "The 
temple of an in-dwelling God." His love hum- 
bles me in the dust ; it seems as a mirror to 
discover my nothingness. Sometimes my weak- 
ness of body seems quite overpowered with the 
Lord's presence manifest to my soul ; and I have 
thought I could bear no more and live. But 
then I eagerly cry, u O give me more and let 
me die ! I long to be freed from earth ; but I 
am resigned to live and suffer here." I found 
the following lines, which I received with some 
others, very reviving : — 

" My Dear Sister, — I fear I shall hardly see 
you again till we meet in paradise. But if you 
should gradually decay, if you be sensible of the 
hour approaching when your spirit is to return 
to God, I should be glad to have notice of it. It 
is a comfort ; to die is not to be lost ! 

' To earth-born pain superior you shall rise 
Through the wide waves of unopposing skies : 
When summon'd hence, ascend heaven's high abode, 
Converse with angels, and rejoice in God.' 



52 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

Tell me, how far does the corruptible and de- 
caying body press down the soul ? Your disorder 
naturally sinks the spirits, and occasions heavi- 
ness and dejection. Can you, nothwithstanding 
this, rejoice evermore ? I shall be glad to know 
if you experience something similar to what Mr. 
De Renty expresses in those strong words : ' I 
bear about with me an experimental verity, and 
a plenitude of the presence of the ever blessed 
Trinity?' Do you commune with God in the 
night season ? Does he bid you even in sleep 
go on ? And does he make your very dreams 
devout ? That he may fill you with all his ful- 
ness, is the constant wish of," &c. 

I praise my God, who enables me, in a degree, 
to understand the above, and to answer those 
deep questions in the affirmative. 

Wednesday, September 1 1 . — This day I have 
had much pain and weakness of bod} r , hut my 
peace hath been as a river : O that my righteous, 
n.ess may be as the waves of the sea. My uncle 
hath disowned my three cousins on account of 
hearing the Methodists. My cousins R. and J. 
are steadfast and more happy in God than ever. 
Poor C. has given up Christ for the world, and 
is therefore restored to the favour of his earthly 
parent. But O ! how will he appear when earth 
and heaven shall flee away ! Lord, make it a 
warning to me, that I may watch and pray, and 
implore momentary help. 

Sunday, 22. — As I returned from preaching, 
I called on Mary Etchels, who is in the last 
stage of a dropsy, just ready to wing her way 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 53 

to eternal glory. She has been a backslider in 
heart for some years ; but in her long affliction 
has returned unto the Lord, with weeping, mourn- 
ing, and supplication. Nor did she weep in vain ; 
the Lord hearkened, and spoke peace to her soul 
some weeks since ; and this day she told me, she 
has received the witness of being cleansed from 
all sin, so that now she is full of love and joy. 
Her cry is, O how I long to be wifh Jesus ! Why 
are his chariot wheels^so long in coming? O 
for patience till my Jesus comes ! She got hold 
ot my hand after I had prayed with her, and 
said, O what precious sights do I see ! such 
gloiy, such glory, I cannot utter it ! Soon after 
her happy spirit fled to her eternal rest. 

Monday, Oct. 14. — In the night (for I could 
not sleep) it was a convenient season between 
God and my happy soul. And I since find the 
bonds of divine union more strong than ever. 
This has been a blessed day ! Kis work, his 
ways, his word, are my delight. I live by faith ; 
and all hard things are become easy. I can 
praise him in every conflict : but I feel I could 
bear nothing, could do nothing, without Jesus. 
All my dependance is on Him, w r ho supplies the 
momentary power I want ; and I can truly say, 

" With every coming hour I prove 
His nature, and his name is love." 

Tuesday, 15. — I am still kept in various trials. 
This day, the following letter was, as if sent of 
God to strengthen me : — 

" My Dear Sister, — The trials which a 
gracious Providence sends, or permits, may be 



54 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

so many means of growing in grace ; and par- 
ticularly of increasing in faith, patience, and 
resignation. And are they not all chosen for us 
by infinite wisdom and goodness ? So that we 
may well subscribe to those beautiful lines : 

' With patient mind thy course of duty run ; 
God nothing does or suffers to be done 
But thou wouldst do thyself, if thou couldst see 
The end of all events as well as he.' 

Every thing we can do for a parent, we ought : 
that is, every thing we can do, without killing 
ourselves ; but this we have no right to do : our 
lives are not at our own disposal. Remember 
this, and do not carry a good principle too far. 
Do you still find, 

1 Labour is rest, and pain is sweet, 
When thou my God art here?' 

I know pain or grief does not interrupt your 
happiness ; but does it not lessen it ? You often 
feel sorrow for your friends : does that sorrow 
rather quicken than depress your soul ? Does it 
sink you deeper into God ? Go on in the strength 
of the Lord. Be careful for nothing. Live to- 
day. So will you still be a comfort to yours 
affectionately." 

Friday, Nov. 8. — My body is very weak : but 
when my strength and my heart fail, I feel God 
is the strength of my heart and my portion for 
ever. Reading a portion of Scripture with 
prayer, every day, is, and has been, a great 
blessing to my soul. Often have I found, through 
this means, direction in difficulties, comfort in 
trials, and heavenly teachings in the way to 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 55 

glory. And the Scriptures I so read, are im* 
pressed with such divine unction on my heart, as 
makes it lasting food and nourishment to my soul. 

Feb. 12, 1777. — Every day I experience more 
fully that God is love, and his service perfect 
freedom. What solid bliss is it to be delivered 
from all dependance on creatures, and to hang 
by faith upon the immutable God ! To know 
this God is mine : to feel he dwelleth in my 
heart, ruleth my will, my affections, my tempers, 
my desires : to know he loveth me ten thousand 
times better than I love him. O it is unspeak- 
able salvation ! 

Feb. 22. — One year this day I have been 
wholly the Lord's ; and he has kept sole posses- 
sion of my willing heart. Yes, thou hast been 
my strength, my refuge, my guide, and my mer- 
ciful God : my portion, my treasure, and my 
whole delight. One year I have loved thee with 
all my heart, and thou hast reigned without a 
rival. And now, O my Father, Saviour, Com<.- 
forter, I give myself afresh to thee. 

" Take my soul and body's powers, 
Take my memory, mind, and will; 
All my goods, and all my hours, 
All I know, and all I feel : 
Thine while I live, thrice happy I, 
Happier still, if thine I die." 

On Sept. 14, 1778, there was a very awful 
earthquake. The new church in Macclesfield 
(where I then was) rocked like a cradle, and 
nearly threw some of the people, then kneeling, 
on their faces. And the noise, for a few mo* 



56 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

ments, was like thunder. The scene that ensued 
was truly an emblem of that day, " when all 
faces shall gather paleness ; and many shall cry 
to the rocks and mountains, Fall on us," &c. 
Some believed that the church was falling at the 
steeple end ; and therefore flew in crowds to the 
opposite doors, shrieking and crying for mercy. 
Some fainted, and were trampled nearly to death ; 
others bruised much : and some did not recover 
the fright. But O, unspeakable grace ! my soul 
was kept calm, for I feared not to die. That 
scripture was brought to my mind : " Yet once 
more, and I shake not the earth only, but also 
heaven." And I was enabled to exhort those 
around to be still, and look unto the God of 
grace for salvation, which they had too long ne- 
glected. Many were deeply awakened by this 
awful providence ; and never found rest after- 
ward, till they found it in the manifested love 
of a blessed Redeemer. And some who may 
date their conversion from that day, will, I be- 
lieve, be eternal monuments of grace. 

Many are my symptoms of mortality ; but 
God is love, and bears my happy soul far above 

" All sin, and temptation, and pain." 

I long for his leave to depart and be with Christ; 
but wait in humble resignation at his feet, till all 
his will be done. 

Though much indisposed, I went to church ; 
and there in partaking of the blessed sacrament, 
I had such union and intercourse with the Holy 
Trinity, as is unspeakable ! blessed foretaste of 



1 



MRS. HESTER ANN EOCJERS. 57 

drinking the new wine ia my Father's king- 
dom. Yes, these are the streams, but that is the 
fountain. 

Friday, June 18, 1780. — I was closely tried 
for a few days past, by near and dear relatives ; 
but in God I have deep peace, and can say, all 
his will is welcome, all pain before his presence 
(lies ! Compared with his love, how trifling is 
ail I suffer. Am I not a brand plucked from 
eternal burnings ! and the few moments of my 
existence here, are all the moments of suffering 
I shall ever know ? yea, and these light afflic- 
tions, even as I pass through them, are working 
out for- me "a far more exceeding and eternal 
weight of glory." 

Monday, December 18. — I had a day of many 
blessings in visiting the sick. I called at John 
Barber's, and found his wife's mother dangerously 
ill. This poor old Pharisee, now upwards of 
fourscore years old, would never listen to the 
calls of converting grace, or be persuaded that 
she needed to be born again. But now the Lord 
has laid his hand upon her soul as well as her 
body. 

Some time after I called again, and found she 
had been incessantly crying tor mercy. When 
I now spoke with her, she cried out, The Lord 
will save me ; but O pray ! I did so : and then 
asking, how do you now feel ? she said, with un- 
common earnestness, I shall soon rejoice in him : 
he will forgive my sins ! Soon after she cried 
aloud, Lord, I hope thou wilt soon forgive me ! 
Lord, thou art forgiving me ! nay, Lord, thou 



58 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

hast forgiven me ! After this, she continued ex- 
ceeding happy for five days, and then exchanged 
mortality for life ! 

Tuesday, 19. — I called upon that old saint, 
Thomas Barber, who was seized the day before 
with a malignant fever. I asked him, Is the 
Lord precious to your soul ? He said, He is all 
love ; I shall soon be with him. It seems worth 
remarking here, that this good old man had 
prayed and agonized with God for many years, 
that his aged wife might see his salvation ; and 
also that she might be first taken home. His 
request was granted in both these respects. A 
little before her death, the Lord revealed his sal- 
vation to her heart ; and for some days she bore 
testimony of his love, often repeating, " Thy rod 
and thy staff comfort me." Just before she de- 
parted, having taken an affectionate leave of her 
husband and children, she cried aloud, " Now, 
Lord, thou art mine for ever and ever !" When 
her breath was gone, her husband said, " Now, 
Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, 
according to thy work, for mine eyes have seen 
thy salvation." And from that time his body 
was perceived to fail. 

Thursday, 21. — I found him very ill, but very 
happy. Yet he told me, " I have been tempted 
to fear patience will not hold out in all this pain, 
for I feel as if every limb was tearing asunder 
from my body : but I know God is all sufficient." 
I called again ; he told me, "My pain has been 
extreme, but I feel the presence of God continu- 
ally : and I sensibly know r , he is as near to me 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 59 

as I am to myself. Whether I die at this timo 
or recover, my will is wholly resigned : but I 
know if he calls me now, I shall go to glory." 
In the afternoon his every breath was prayer or 
praise ; and all his attention manifestly taken up 
with heavenly things. To the doctor he said, 
" It is of more consequence that you should re- 
pent, than that I should recover ; for if I die I 
shall go to God ; but if you do not repent you 
will perish : ' You must be born again.' " 

Saturday, 23. — His dissolution evidently drew 
near. He was some times a little delirious ; yet 
of God and spiritual things he spoke clearly and 
Scripturaliy, and prayed without ceasing. In the 
evening he broke out in the most solemn man- 
ner, and repeated several times, " Christ is God ! 
Christ is God ! God out of Christ is a consuming 
fire !" On being asked how he did, he said, " I 
am going to the heavenly Canaan, that promised 
land for which I set out long ago." While the 
doctor spoke to him of his body, he regarded 
not, but told him, " I am not afraid to die." And 
then, with lifted hands, prayed that all around 
him, and especially his children, might follow 
him to glory. When I asked him a little after 
this, do you now feel God graciously near ? he 
said, (looking with solemn steadfastness in his 
countenance, as if he saw something,) " His 
spiritual presence is here !" and bursting into a 
flood of tears, cried, " I am full of God ! His 
glory fills my soul !" Another asked him, Have 
you any doubts ? He answered, I have not the 
least doubt upon my mind, but I shall reign with 



60 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

him in glory ! Late that night I called again? 
wishing to see him once more and though de- 
lirious just before, when one said, Here is Miss 
Roe ; he hastily put out his hand and said, " May 
God bless you." This was his last address to 
me ; and he spake little afterward. At nine the 
next morning, I found him speechless, and in a 
dying state ; but quite composed, and just as if 
falling into a sweet sleep. Mr. Simpson came 
in, and went to prayer by him ; but he appeared 
insensible to all below. The power of God, 
however, rested on all present in an abundant 
manner ; and in about an hour afterward he ex- 
pired without a sigh or a groan. 

Friday, 29. — Late this evening, my cousin 
Robert Roe arrived with the corpse of his 
brother Samuel, who died at Leek, on his way 
home from Bristol. There was great hope in 
the end of this once gay young man. My cousin 
William, and Margaret, also arrived from Liver- 
pool : O that this solemn season may be sancti- 
fied to all his weeping relatives and friends ! and 
may those who partook of the follies that em- 
ployed his youthful years, take the awful warn- 
ing, and seek that acquaintance with Jesus in 
life, which he felt so much need of in his last 
hours. 

March 27, 1781. — This day at my uncle Roe's, 
I saw Mr. Rogers for the first time. He and 
Mr. Bardsley are come over from Sheffield to 
see cousin Robert, who respects Mr. Rogers 
much, having received good from his preaching 
at Leeds. We had a blessed season in prayer 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 61 

together; and cousin Peggy Roe in particular, 
seemed stirred up and comforted. Afterward 
we called on that dying saint, David Pickford ; 
who witnessed a good confession of the love of 
Jesus, which he has felt experimentally for these 
thirty-six years ; and proves him yet faithful. 
At night, Mr. Rogers preached from " You that 
are troubled, rest with us." And at five o'clock 
next morning, Mr. Barusley enforced that blessed 
portion, " Fear not, for 1 am with thee ; be not 
dismayed, for I am thy God," &c. I felt both 
peculiar seasons of divine blessings : and though 
afterward tried at home, it was a day of deep 
consolation. 

April 20. — I was much comforted by hearing 
of the happy death of Anne B., one I formerly 
loved much, and dealt faithfully with. She lost 
much of her spirituality, by a connection with a 
carnal man, whom she married a year ago, But 
the Lord loved her, and sent a lingering afflic- 
tion, slew the body, but saved the soul ! 

Friday, 27. — I have lately proved more kind- 
ness and affection^ from my mother, than for 
some years. O how good is the Lord ! Surely 
with him nothing shall be impossible. My uncle 
Roe is seized dangerously ill, and two physicians 
called in. 

Wednesday, May 2. — There is no hope of my 
uncle's recovery. But he is reconciled to all 
his children, and calls much upon God ! and 
begs of Mr. Simpson, and others, to pray for 
him. Yea, though scarce able, gets upon his 
knees in bed, to pray for himself. 



62 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

Thursday, 3. — As I went to my uncle's this 
morning, I met one of the maids, who told me 
he is fled into a world of spirits ! he lay all night 
quite composed ; but about ten this morning sud- 
denty opened his eyes and fixed them, with seem- 
ing delight, on some object for several minutes : 
soon after which, he silently breathed away the 
immortal spirit ! and, I have great hope, is es- 
caped to endless life. I spent the day chiefly 
with my cousins, and found it a solemn profitable 
season. Poor cousin Joseph came a few hours 
after his father's decease, having rode on horse- 
back two hundred miles in twenty-four hours. 

Tuesday, 8. — In the dusk of the evening my 
uncle's remains were carried in great pomp, by 
his own carriage and horses, to the new church, 
and accompanied by coaches, torches, and a vast 
concourse of people ; but the horses, unaccus- 
tomed to be adorned with such trappings as black 
cloth, escutcheons, they would hardly proceed. 
He was interred by Mr. Simpson, in the vault he 
had so lately prepared ! Yes, this much feared, 
and much loved man, is now committed to 
corruption and worms ! it reminds me of Dr. 
Young's beautiful lines : 

"An angel's arm can't snatch me from the grave, 
Legions of angels can't confine me there!" 

Tuesday, July 3. — I called on Ann Shrigley, 
who, when I last saw her, was crying for mercy 
in deep distress ; but is now filled with praise, 
and on the verge of a glorious eternity. On 
Friday last, having spoken sharply to her hus- 
band, she was seized with agony of spirit, and 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. G3 

Cried aloud, Now I am lost for ever : I shall go 
to hell ; there is no mercy for me? But she 
wrestled in prayer till she prevailed, and the 
Lord shed his forgiving love abroad in an abund- 
ant manner, and bore his witness with her heart 
that she was born of God. She now told me, I 
long to be gone. O that all the world knew what 
I feel ; they would soon seek God and find him ; 
for he would save them all. O that blessed 
eternity ! I am going to that blessed eternity ! 
I said there we shall meet to part no more. 
She said no, never, never part more ! we shall 
be for ever wiih our Lord. O that blessed Sa- 
viour ! what has he done for my soul ! If my 
bodily affliction was a thousand times heavier 
than it is, his love would be above all. On 
Monday, 16th, I went with Mr. Simpson who 
administered to her the blessed memorials of 
dying love ; and w r e all found it a time of the 
presence and power of God. She continued 
in the same sweet frame of mind till her spirit 
fled away. 

Wednesday. — Cousin F. R. called on me this 
morning, and related her dream, which has 
made a deep impression on her mind, and af- 
fected me much. She thought her father's spirit 
appeared to her, and a person who was with her 
in the room where he died ; and that he asked, 
in a most solemn manner, "Are my family and 
children seeking salvation ? I say, are all my 
children and family seeking the full assurance 
of salvation ?" He then disappeared ; but quickly 
came again, as if he was in haste to give them 



64 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

warning, lest any of them should defer it till too 
late, and perish in their sins: and asked, "Have 
all my family found the full assurance of salva- 
tion V- And added, with the utmost earnestness, 
" Tell them, never, never, never to rest till they 
find it! Do you hear me? Tell them never, 
never to rest till they have found it!" I forbear 
to mention a few more particulars in this awful 
dream ! those whom it chiefly concerns no doubt 
remember them, as it was kept no secret. O 
may it make lasting impressions on all! Some 
did take warning ; found that full assurance ;- — 
witnessed a good confession to all their friends, 
and are now safely lodged in Abraham's bo- 
som : — 

"Far from a world of grief and sin, 
With God eternally shut in !" 

After his father's death, my cousin Robert 
determined to fix in Macclesfield ; and for that 
purpose buiit a good house, conveniently near 
the new church. A lovely situation, and good 
air. When this house was finished, at his earn- 
est request, and by the desire of his aunt, Miss S., 
and several more, my mother undertook to keep 
the house. She rented the whole dwelling, and 
he boarded with her. I mention this, because 
it appears a peculiar providence that placed me 
there, to be with this child and servant of God 
in his last moments. From the time of his 
father's death to that of his own, he gave him. 
self up to the work of God, as fully as health 
would possibly permit. He boldly and publicly 
preached the Gospel in and near Macclesfield ; 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 65 

and the Lord bore witness to his word, by 
awakening, converting, and saving souls. And 
I believe I may safely affirm, that during that 
season, he never preached one sermon in vain. 
Sometimes two, throe, or four, in one night, 
were deeply awakened ; and once seven ; and 
commonly three or four justified. He was also 
the instrument of many believing to full sal- 
vation. 

Friday, Aug. 9. — We removed to my cousin's' 
house ; where I enjoyed, for the short season of 
his life, many spiritual privileges. My mother 
also had many opportunities she never would 
before partake of, both in pnryer and Christian 
conversation ; for my cousin had constant prayer 
meetings, bands, &c, under the roof; and en- 
deavoured to devote his whole time, talents, and 
substance, to God. But how mysterious are the 
ways of Providence 1 how quickly was he called 
from all this ? 

Tuesday, 20th, he caught a severe cold, which 
terminated in his death. Every help was pro- 
cured, but to no effect. His soul, which long 
panted after holiness, was now deeply distressed 
to feel the power of the all-cleansing blood, and 
the witness of being saved from all sin. He 
called on me many times a day to pray with 
him, and was often greatly comforted ; but 
nothing less than full salvation would satisfy. 
Satan at times took advantage of his distracted 
nerves, and suggested terrible fears ; so that 
his conflicts at some seasons were great, at other 
times he was filled with comfort ; and during th# 
5 



$6 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS.- 

whole of his affliction he never expressed the 
least murmuring or impatience. 

Tuesday, 27th, in attempting to walk two or 
£hree times across the room, he fainted away ; 
and when recovered, said, "-I heg as a particu- 
lar favour, cousin, that you will be with me as- 
much as possible ; don't leave me, and God will 
reward you." I seldom did after this. 

September 2. — I rose at five, and going into 
his room, found him awake : he said, I feel pe- 
culiarly calm, composed, and resigned to the 
will of God : but have had no sleep : tell me if 
you have not been praying for me ? I answered 
yes : he said, I thought so. Then he desired 
me to open the New Testament, and read the 
verse that first appeared ; I did so, and it was 
ibis : " For ye are dead, and your life is hid 
with Christ in God ; when Christ, who is our 
life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with 
him in glory." He was greatly comforted. 
From this time he hastened toward his eternal 
home ! 

Monday, 9.— He settled all his temporal con- 
cerns, and then praised God for having done so, 
and was very happy. But in the night, he had 
one more conflict with Satan. I prayed with 
him above an hour : surely it was the most 
solemn season I ever knew ? The Lord heard 
and delivered. He fell into a sweet sleep, and 
awoke rejoicing ; yea, triumphing in God. After 
this he enjoyed the witness of entire sanctifica- 
tion ; and proclaimed to all who came near him, 
the love of his God and Saviour, saying, Now I 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 67 

know by experience what I have preached to 
others is no cunningly devised fable. I feel 
now the blood of Jesus cleanseth from all sin. 
I am now entirely a new creature ! I can love 
the Lord with all my heart, and soul, and 
strength. The enemy tells me, if I get better I 
shall soon lose this : but I believe I shall not ; 
for I know as long as I have this hold of God, 
nothing will be able to overcome me. In a day 
or two after he was often delirious : yet still, in 
all intervals, was full of happiness, love, pa- 
tience, and resignation, though he suffered much. 

Thursday, 12. — He said, What a peace do I 
now enjoy ! I feel now, and for some days past, 
what I never felt before. When I am at the 
worst, (and none but God knows what I suffer,) 
my mind is peaceable and happy ; and I have 
not a murmuring or repining thought. I can 
cast all my care on God, as I never could be- 
fore ; and even my helplessness does not dis- 
courage me, for I find his grace sufficient. But 
I see a great fulness yet before me. 

Friday, 13. — When he was got up to have 
his bed made easy, he would not return to it, 
(though every breath seemed as if it would be 
his last,) till he had given a short account of his 
whole experience from his first setting out. He 
went through all his trials, persecutions, tempta- 
tions, &c. But now, said he, I reap the blessed 
fruit ; and I can say, neither my father's tears 
nor severity ; neither hope of preferment, nor 
fear of suffering, ever made me prevaricate, or 
depart from what I believed my duty to God. 



68 *' MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

And now I prove him faithful : he hath said, 
" Whosoever forsaketh father, or mother, or 
brothers, or sisters, or houses, or lands, for my 
sake and the Gospel's shall receive a hundred 
fold in this life ; even father and mother, houses 
and lands, &c ; and in the world to come ever- 
lasting life." This is literally fulfilled in me. 
[ forsook all ; and I was restored to my father's 
favour. I have a house, land, &c, in this life ; 
and I am going to everlasting life ! whereas, if I 
had basely complied with my friends' desires, I 
should have possessed no more in this life than I 
now do ; and should have been lying here with 
a guilty conscience, a frowning God, and full of 
horror, in the views of a miserable eternity ! O 
how good it is to give up all for God ! Now I 
feel it, and I shall praise him for ever ! O how 
pleasingly awful was this noble testimony from 
a dying friend, when obliged to gasp for breath 
between every sentence. He continued for 
some time after this praising God, and recom- 
mending all his relations and friends to his pro- 
tection ; the particulars of which I omit here, 
having already referred the reader to them in 
the Magazine. 

Saturday, 24. — He was quite deranged, yet 
composed, and knew me to the last. At three 
o'clock on Sunday morning, death sweats came 
on, and about half past five, he fled to his eter- 
nal paradise ! All in the room sensibly felt the 
powerful presence of God. Yea, it was as the 
gate of heaven, while on our knees we watched 
the last parting- breath ! Mr. Simpson preached 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 69 

a funeral sermon in the new church, on Sunday, 
the 29th; and Mr. Rogers at the Methodist 
chapel. The former from " These are they 
who came out of great tribulation, and have 
washed their robes, and made them white in the 
blood of the Lamb." The latter from, " Mark 
the perfect man, and behold the upright ; for the 
end of that man is peace." I believe many will 
remember the blessed season to their eternal good. 

In the year following, I had another awful 
scene to pass through. Dear Mrs. Rogers, 
after the birth of her little James, never recov- 
ered her health fully. Mr. Rogers, being a 
good deal in the country parts of the circuit, I 
was very much with her ; and our love for each 
other daily increased. At different times she 
opened her whole heart to me on very tender 
points ; for we were as one soul. For several 
weeks before her death, she entreated me not to 
leave her, when I could possibly help it. But as 
her experience and triumphant death are already 
published, I forbear to enlarge respecting either. 
O, my Lord, let my latter end be like hers ! 

I come now briefly to observe, that after a 
wonderful chain of divine leadings, and remark- 
able providences, (too tedious to dwell upon 
here,) on August 19, 1784, I was married to 
Mr. Rogers, in whom the Lord gave me a help- 
mate for glory ; just such a partner as my 
weakness needed to strengthen me. He hath 
made us one heart and one soul ; and for above 
eight years, hath crowned our union with his 
constant smile. 



70 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

We spent a week or ten days after our mar- 
riage with my mother ; and then hastened to 
Dublin, where Mr. Rogers was appointed to 
labour. We were gladly received, and the Lord 
gave us the hearts of the people. Our hands 
being thus strengthened of the Lord, we agreed 
solemnly to devote ourselves and our all to him 
and his work- And glory to his name, we saw 
a blessed revival : in three years the society 
increased from about five hundred, to eleven 
hundred and upwards ; and we had good cause 
to believe above four hundred were converted to 
God. 

In August, 1789, we came over from Dublin 
to see my mother at Macclesfield. Mr. Wes- 
ley, and several preachers with families, also 
coming at the same time to England, we took 
the whole ship. In this passage we were in 
imminent danger, by dashing on a rock called 
the West Mouse. But prayer was made, the 
Lord heard, and w r onderfully delivered ! We 
landed at Park Gate, and travelled with Mr. 
Wesley to Macclesfield, where my mother re- 
ceived us with great affection. After the Man- 
chester conference, we returned to Ireland, sailed 
for Dublin, where we had left our little boy. We 
spent about a week with our very affectionate 
friends there, and then proceeded to Cork. 

Here also the Lord revived a gracious work. 
His word prospered and prevailed ; and we had 
cause to rejoice, not only over a few individuals, 
but several families, who were added to the fold 
of God, We found three hundred and ninety* 



. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 71 

seven members in society ; and left six hundred 
and fifty. In the last year we had some close 
trials through a few individuals ; but our spirit- 
ual mercies out-balanced them all. I do not 
know that I ever enjoyed more of the Lord's 
heartfelt presence than at Cork, excepting the 
time of a severe nervous fever, and then the 
cloud was only for a tew days ; and that, I 
believe, was merely owing to the body ; for 
though in a week afterward, all the feelings of 
nature were touched, I felt nothing contrary to 
resignation, patience, or love* 

At t\\2 time I now speak of, my own recovery 
was doubtful. Mr. Rogers (oppressed with grief 
through my illness, and by his attention to me 
night and day) was very ill. James had a worm 
.fever ; the maid confined with sickness ; and my 
little John, six weeks old, dying in convulsions, 
for three days ! — Surely, in this scene, the Lord 
magnified his power in supporting my weakness, 
and enabling me then to say, "Good is the will 
of the Lord." After this season, my consola- 
tions were abundant ; and my faith, love, and 
communion with God, much deepened. 

I had here some encouraging letters from Mr. 
Wesley. In the two last he mentioned his in- 
tention of removing us to London at the ensuing 
conference. I trembled at the thought of so im- 
portant a charge ; but committed it to God in 
much prayer. And notwithstanding our various 
exercises of body and mind since we came to 
this city, I am certain Divine love has mixed 
every cup, and ordered all things well. To be 



72 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

with that honoured and much loved servant of 
God, Mr. Wesley, for five months ; and then to 
be witnesses of his glorious exit, was a favour 
indeed. But Oh ! how awful the scene ! — how 
unspeakable the loss! I peculiarly felt it; being 
then in a weak state, not quite recovered from 
my lying-in. 

The solemnity of the dying hour of that great 
good man, I believe will be ever written on my 
heart ! Well might Dr. Young say, " The 
chamber where the good man meets his fate, is 
privileged beyond the common walk of virtuous 
life, quite on the verge of heaven !" A cloud of 
the Divine presence rested on all ! and while he 
could hardly be said to be an inhabitant of earth, 
being now speechless, and his eyes fixed, victory 
and glory were written on his countenance, and 
quivering, as it were, on his dying lips ! O could 
he then have spoken, methinks it would have 
been nothing but victory ! victory ! — grace ! 
grace ! — glory ! glory ! No language can paint 
what appeared in that face ! The more we gazed 
upon it, the more we saw of heaven unspeaka- 
ble ! Not the least sign of pain, but a weight of 
bliss. Thus he continued, only his breath grow- 
ing weaker and weaker, till, without a struggle 
or a groan, he left the cumbrous clay behind, 
and fled to eternal life in the bosom of his faith- 
ful Lord. 

When I look back on the trying scenes we 
have passed through since this awful event, and 
consider we are yet monuments of grace and 
saving power, I am lost in wonder and in love* 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 73 

Mr. Rogers, in particular, has been tried as in 
the fire, and exposed through his office, as a 
mark to shoot at ; yet, through infinite mercy, 
I believe he will come out of it all more fully 
purified. I might here enlarge on particulars, 
but shall leave the Lord's faithful servants, as 
well as the instruments of their sufferings, to 
Him who will plead the cause of the innocent, 
and " make all things work together for good to 
them that love God :" praying, with our suffer- 
ing Lord, for those who now persecute him in 
his members, " Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do." 

I shall now only observe, as it relates to my 
own experience, that these trying exercises of 
my dear partner have been keenly felt by me. 
And my nervous system weakened by that dan- 
gerous fever at Cork, has also greatly suffered 
by these things ; which, like " wave upon wave, 
have followed each other !" To this I ascribe 
it chiefly, that a cloud of heaviness has, at some 
seasons, hung upon my mind ; and that Satan 
has taken occasion to suggest, in those times of 
animal depression, various accusations of short 
comings in zeal, activity, and spiritual joy. I 
do not mean that I was ever left in darkness ; — 
No : since I first consciously received a sense 
of favour with God, I never lost it; but within 
two years last past, I have not always had so 
clear a witness of perfect love. At other times 
I have had that witness full and clear ; and at 
all times could say, 



74 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

" None but Jesus will I know, 
None but him do I desire, 
Whom have I in heaven but thee?_ 
Thou art all in all to me!" 

But in nothing else than full salvation, and the 
witness of it, could my soul ever rest. O no ! 
What is past experience without present enjoy- 
ment ? I must feel, or I cannot be happy. 

Sunday, Nov. 11, 1792.— This day it is 
eighteen years since I received the knowledge 
of a reconciled God. O that I were in a deeper 
sense a " mother in Israel." My Lord has ever 
been faithful to me ! In all my persecutions he 
comforted me ! In the alluring snares of youth, 
he saved, he kept. It was by his grace I for- 
sook all ; denied myself ease, pleasure, friends : 
— And after he had proved me, he gave me 
easier circumstances, and one of the best of 
earthly friends. He has led on my ignorance, 
and strengthened my weakness. Through va- 
rious scenes, and in outward perplexities, how 
often have I received immediate teaching from 
God ! — In travelling from city to city, how have 
I been protected by guardian love, and saved 
from fear and danger on the watery deep. May 
I never forget his ten thousand proofs of his love 
in Dublin, in Cork, in London. He hath given 
me favour in the eyes of his children in every 
place, and helped me feebly to serve them. He 
hath given me spiritual children also, some of 
whom are lodged safe in his bosom, and others 
in the way to glory. I have had five lovely 
children in the flesh : and besides these, my dear 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 75 

Joseph and Benjamin, left with me in charge, 
and to whom I feel united in all the tenderness 
of parental love ; nor have they ever been want- 
ing in a due return. One, (a fine boy,) my Lord 
hath taken to the abodes of bliss ; and for the 
rest, he assures my heart, 

u The children of thy faith in prayer, 
Shall all to thee be given." 

The witness of his perfect love ever shone 
upon my soul, till for a season, in my nervous 
fever ; but that season past, it shone afresh, and 
continued so to do ; till at intervals in the two 
years past, I have not so constantly enjoyed this. 
I have been jealous over myself with a godly 
jealousy, lest anxiety about a multiplicity of out- 
ward things has too much stolen upon me. And 
lest at other times I have suffered my mind to 
dwell too much on disagreeables. Lest I have 
been less active, less zealous, less spiritual. Yet 
I dare not say I have forfeited the blessing. But 
I cannot rest when the witness is not clear. I 
know much I have felt has been temptation, and 
that Satan has accused when my God did not 
condemn. 

Many also have been my seasons of deep con- 
solation ; of deep communion with my God. 
Many, and remarkable my deliverances, and 
answers to prayer ; and great my divine support 
in every hour of trial. At present I am sinking 
into the arms of love, and I do feel I am all the 
Lord's. Many things that have crucified my 
will of late, have been good for me. I desire 



76 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

to be crucified with Christ, and that he should 
live alone in me ! I feel he now does ; but I 
long for a yet larger measure of his mind, more 
of every grace, and deeper communion with my 
God. He does meet me at the throne of grace, 
and all temptations respecting conflicts with Satan 
in death are vanished. I know my Joshua will 
be with me in Jordan, and see me safe through. 
Sometimes I have thought I shall have to pass 
that river before it be long ; but that I leave to 
him. I feel no desires of life, but when I see 
my dear husband oppressed with trials, and my 
living seems as if it would be a help and com- 
fort to him. Or, when a silent, resigned wish 
arises, to see my children grown, and partakers 
of regenerating grace. But I am kept from 
anxiety. 

I feel grateful to my God, that 1 am placed 
here, (at Spitalfields,) though but for a season : 
where I can enjoy more retirement, and less of 
busy life. My God is with me, and I trust he 
will draw and unite more fully to himself, his 
helpless, worthless creature ! I have power 
with him in prayer, and I know he will answer 
my enlarged requests, for myself, my other self, 
and our offspring. We shall be his : I will be 
his alone. This day I consecrate to him my 
soul and body's powers, my life, my all. May 
his blessed Spirit come and seal me his abode ; 
ratify the covenant ; and with the Father and the 
Son, dwell for ever in my worthless heart. Amen. 
O my God, I sign myself over to thee, This 
solemn hour, 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 77 

" My soul and body I resign, 
With joy I render thee; 
My all, no longer mine, but thine 
To all eternity." 

Hester Ann Rogers. 



A SERMON. 

" It is appointed unto men once to die." Ileb. ix, 27. 

If the remains of our departed sister, in 
memory of whom the present discourse is de- 
livered, were now before your eyes, with all the 
pomp and splendour of modern funerals, it is not 
improbable there are some whose minds would 
be affected with a solemn but superstitious awe, 
which the preacher has neither power nor in- 
clination to raise. He is conscious that those 
who had the privilege of being acquainted with 
our respected sister, need nothing more than the 
recollection of that amiable woman, under the 
blessing of God, to infuse into them that spirit 
of true solemnity, which alone becomes the 
Christian on these occasions. But yet, that 
which rises above every other consideration, is 
the momentous truth held out to us in my text, 
that great statute law of Heaven, " It is appointed 
unto men once to die." 

For the due improvement of this weighty subject, 
we shall, under the blessing of the Most High, 

First, Give an explication of the text. 



78 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

Secondly, Consider the grand point held forth 
to our view, — the certainty of death. 

Thirdly, Lay down some considerations against 
the fear of death, for the use and comfort of 
believers. 

Fourthly, Draw some inference from the fore- 
going heads of my discourse : And, 

Lastly, Present you with an epitome of the 
experience, death, and character of our deceased 
friend, Mrs. Hester Aim Rogers. 

I. We are to explain the text. 

1st. The proposition is indefinite, therefore 
universal, " all must die." It is not confined to 
any sex or description. The whole race is in- 
cluded. But yet there have been, and still shall 
be, exceptions to the general rule. 1. Enoch, 
that holy man, who walked with God three hun- 
dred years, and then "was not, for God took him. 
By faith he was translated" into heaven. When 
he had, for so long a time, borne, by example 
and prophecy, his faithful testimony against the 
sins of a wicked world, just mature for destruc- 
tion, his merciful Redeemer, the God of Israel, 
with whose smile and intimacy he had been di- 
vinely honoured for centuries, took him into his 
everlasting arms, and fitted him at once for con- 
summate glory. 2. Elijah, the great and highly 
honoured prophet, who had power to open and 
shut the heavens, and to call down celestial fire ; 
when be had finished his suffering life in the 
midst of a crooked, adulterous, idolatrous people, 
his friend and his God took him, soul and body 
together, in a chariot of fire, to the heaven of 






MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 79 

heavens. These are the exceptions we have 
had already. 

And, in respect to futurity, " we shall not all 
bleep, but we shall be changed in a moment, in 
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ; for 
the trumpet shall sound," and instantly all the 
faithful who are then alive, shall put on incor- 
ruption and immortality, and shall afterward 
enter into their Master's joy, without suffering 
the usual lot of mortality. 

The above excepted, we must all pass through 
the valley of the shadow of death, and return to 
the dust from whence we came. And truly, my 
brethren, I know not whether I should not pre- 
fer, if the choice were given me, to tread the 
steps my Saviour trod before me, and to pass 
after him through the door of death, than to be 
at once translated to the realms of bliss. He 
has sanctified the grave by lying in it : and every 
path in which we follow the Lamb is strowed 
with blessings to the faithful. He will take care 
of our sacred dust : every thing which is essen- 
tial to humanity, will he preserve in the hollow 
of his hand, till he completely mould it by Al- 
mighty power, and give it a lustre, to which the 
sun shall appear as darkness. 

2dly. AH must die once, but all shall not die 
the second death. There is the comfort of the 
believer. That divine and ineffable union which 
subsists between God and the Christian's soul, 
shall preserve the consecrated body, which here 
below is the temple of the Holy Ghost. As the 
whole humanitv of Christ was united to his God- 



80 - MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

head, even when his soul and body were sepa- 
rated ; so the soul and body of the faithful are 
united to Christ, even when they are separated 
by death : for we are the " bone of his bone, and 
the flesh of his flesh." When death shall untie 
those secret and sweet bands, those vital knots 
which fasten soul and body together, then shall 
the sanctified and immortal spirit burst through 
its tenement' of clay, and take .possession of its 
everlasting home. On such " the second death 
hath no power." To them death is only a sleep, 
a happy passage out of the prison of the body 
into a state of perfect freedom ; out of an earthly 
house, where the better part groans, " into a 
building of God, a house *iot made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens." But, 

3dly. We must all undergo the first death. 
This is the irrevocable decree of Heaven : not 
from the necessity of nature, but as the punish- 
ment of sin. Man was made immortal : sin 
alone brought death into the world, and all our 
wo. " By sin," says St. Paul, " death entered 
into the world." And shall we nourish and in- 
dulge our great enemy ? Shall we harbour ; yea, 
shall we serve the murderers of Christ ? Shall 
we not exert ourselves to the uttermost against 
the greatest foe of God and man ? Shall a little 
temporary joy or profit induce us to sacrifice 
everlasting happiness, and to embrace everlasting 
burnings ? — May the awful decree, " It is ap- 
pointed unto man once to die," have such an 
influence on our minds, and be so accompanied by 
the operations of grace upon our hearts, that we 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 81 

may always be enabled to say with holy triumph, 
" death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where 
is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth 
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

II. But we now proceed to consider the se- 
cond point, — the unavoidableness and certainty 
of death. 

It needs no proof. Every thing else on this 
side of the grave, is attended with probability 
or possibility only ; this alone with certainty. 
If it be inquired, will such a child be rich or 
poor, be learned or ignorant, be honourable or 
contemptible ? the answer is, perhaps it may, 
perhaps not. But if it be inquired, shall he die ? 
the answer contains no perhaps : it is simply, 
he certainly shall. 

I shall therefore only consider the present 
head in a way of application. For it is the heart 
alone which wants to be awakened on the pre- 
sent subject. Such is the sottishness of men in 
general, that they will not duly consider the 
transitoriness of all sublunary things, the mor- 
tality of our bodies, and the infinitely momentous 
concerns of eternity. Let us therefore examine 
into the grand reasons of this stupidity of man. 
We shall find it, perhaps, to proceed from the 
following particulars : — 

1st. Immense multitudes are so immerged in 
the pleasures, honours, or riches of this world, 
that every thought of the certainty or approach 
of death is drowned therein. As soon as an idea 
on the important subject springs up in the mind, 
it sinks and is lost in the innumerable ideas 
6 



82 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

which continually crowd in concerning the things 
of time and sense : it is devoured by the worldly 
thoughts which are incessantly buzzing in the 
souls of carnal men. One is eagerly pursuing 
things of time, and so abhorrent of reflection, 
that with a variety of invented delights, he imps 
the wings of time, to make them fly the faster ; 
and is never contented, but when the senses are 
gratified. — Another is eat up by ambition ; he 
forgets he is mortal ; and power, and titles, and 
worldly honours, are the only food of his soul. 
A third, like the fool in the parable, trusts in his 
riches. He says to his soul, " Soul, thou hast 
goods laid up for many years ; eat, drink, and 
be merry :" whereas he might as well lay a 
plaster to his clothes to heal the wounds of his 
body, as imagine it can bring happiness into his 
soul through any thing which the honours, riches, 
or pleasures of this world can possibly afford 
him. If he will believe the Spirit of God, the 
sum total of them all is, " Vanity of vanities, all 
is vanity and vexation of spirit." If vanity can 
satisfy you, if vexation of spirit can give you 
content, if you can gather grapes of thorns, or figs 
of thistles, then go and doat upon the creatures. 
2dly. Men in general are continually viewing 
death as at a distance ; and thereby entirely lose 
sight of the awful certainty and unavoidableness 
of it. When they are young, the heat of blood, 
the incessant flow of the animal spirits, a vicious 
education, and the constant company of the dis- 
sipated and unawakened, drive away every 
thought of death, as if the solemn moment were 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 83 

at the utmost distance from them. Those who 
are grown up to manhood, and are strong and 
healthy, think it quite sufficient to provide for 
death when sickness gives the summons. Those 
who are sickly and diseased, buoy up themselves 
in their false confidence, by their hopes of re- 
covery : and even the aged (strange as it seems !) 
regard their few remaining days as if they were 
years. Such is the state of the unregenerate ; 
such the dreadful consequence of a heart hardened 
to divine things by original and actual sin ! What 
if God were to summon you away, sinners, in 
an hour or a moment ! how dreadful would be 
the alarm ! And should we not be every mo- 
ment prepared, by living in the favour of God, 
and in the light of his countenance ; for who can 
assure himself for a moment to come ? For 
aught you know, the film, the bubble, which holds 
your lives, is now breaking ! O did we but seri- 
ously consider by what small pins this frame of 
man is tacked together, it would appear to us a 
miracle that we live for a single hour. 

3dly. The apprehensions, the terrors, arising 
in the minds of the unregenerate from reflection 
upon death, keep them from any due considera- 
tions on the certainty and unavoidableness of it. 
The agonies of death, the senseless corpse, the 
gnawing worm, the stench of rottenness, and all 
the other attendants of that grim king of terrors, 
form far too miserable a subject for the jovial 
world or the dissipated throng to reflect upon 
for a moment. But though the consideration of 
these things is very unwelcome, yea, very dis. 



84 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

mal to the minds of sinners, yet there is far 
worse behind : and that is the sin which deserves 
death, and the hell which follows it. To be for 
ever shut up in utter darkness, to be the sport 
of devils, as far as devils can sport themselves 
with any thing, to be banished for ever from the 
source of happiness, to have the soul eternally 
tormented by the worm which dieth not, and the 
immortalized body by a fire suited to its ever 
dying, but never annihilated substance : these 
subjects afford ideas which, if thoroughly at- 
tended to, and applied by the grace of God, would 
soon stir up the soul to enter into that state of 
favour with the Lord, which would make dissolu- 
tion a privilege, and death a kind messenger with- 
out a sting, to open the gate to everlasting joys. 

III. But this leads me to the third head of 
my discourse, namely, to lay down some con- 
siderations against the fear of death, for the use 
and comfort of believers. 

1st. If the soul be immortal, if it were cre- 
ated and redeemed for the eternal enjoyment of 
God, and consequently enter after death on an 
infinitely better life than this, the believer may 
certainly be well contented, yea, glad to die. 
The glorious view, which faith opens to the 
spiritual eye, far overbalances all the frightful 
objects with which death is surrounded. The 
scenes of pure perennial bliss, where saints eter- 
nally bask themselves in the bright beams of the 
countenance of their God, and bathe themselves 
in the rivers of pleasures which flow at his right 
hand for evermore, are sufficient, though only 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 85 

viewed in prospect, to elevate the soul above 
every terrifying thought which can possibly as- 
sail it. An old Heathen philosopher, Tullius 
Cicero, in his dream of Scipio, beautifully ob- 
serves, " If I were now disengaged from my 
cumbrous body, and on the wing for Elysium, 
[the place where the ancient Romans supposed 
the virtuous would dwell after death,] and some 
superior being should meet me in my flight, and 
make me an offer of returning and reanimating 
my body, I should without hesitation reject his 
offer : so much rather would I go to Elysium, 
to reside with Socrates and Plato, and all the 
ancient worthies, and spend my time in convers- 
ing with them." But could a Heathen thus 
triumph in the thought of enjoying his poor 
miserable paradise, and prefer it even to life, how 
much more may a Christian triumph in the ex- 
ulting thought, that he shall spend an eternity 
with the wisest, the holiest, the happiest beings 
that ever came out of the creative hand of God : 
yea, that he shall spend an eternity with Jesus, 
the Mediator of the new covenant, the joy of his 
heart, and the delight of his eyes : where he 
shall fix his ever waking eyes on the infinite 
beauty of his adorable Lord ; yea, if it were 
possible, would think eternity itself too short for 
the beholding and admiring such transcendent 
excellencies, and for the solemnizing those hea- 
venly espousals between Christ and his most be- 
loved spouse, when all the powers of heaven 
shall triumph for joy, and a concert of seraphim 
for ever sing the wedding song. 



86 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS, 

2dly. The whole life of a Christian is founded 
on a hope which cannot be accomplished but by 
dying. How exceedingly mistaken must he be, 
who fears that which alone can gratify his high- 
est wishes, and is the great end of all his pur- 
suits. What does the Christian chiefly hope 
for ? Is it not the full enjoyment of his God in 
the realms of bliss ? Is it not the restoration of 
his whole nature to the full image of God, in 
which it was at first created ; and the recovery 
of that paradise, which he has lost by the fall ; 
a paradise, the glories of which shall be incon- 
ceivably heightened by the union of the divine 
and human natures in the person of the second 
Adam, the Son of God ? Is it not to live for ever 
with his adorable and most beloved Saviour, to 
be with him where he is, and to behold the glory 
which the Father has given him ? Is it not to sit 
with Christ on his throne, according to his most 
gracious promise, even as Christ sits with his 
Father on his throne ? Is it not to join the re- 
deemed and the innumerable hosts of angels, in 
singing continually alleluiahs, salvation, and 
glory, and honour, and power, to God and the 
Lamb? In short, is it .not to see God face to 
face, to enjoy the beatim; vision, to experience 
an inconceivably closer union and communion 
with God, than we possibly can during the pre- 
sent scene of things ; to be for ever blest in the 
close embraces of the sovereign good ? But can 
we be possessors of these mighty joys without 
passing through the valley of death ? And shall 
a Christian be afraid of that which alone can 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. S7 

enable him to realize the glorious hope, which is 
the very support of his life ? Should it not rather 
be the language of his soul, " I desire to be dis- 
solved, and to be with Christ, which is far better." 
3dly. Death is no more than a quiet sleep. Thus 
it is frequently represented in the oracles of God. 
".Behold thou shalt sleep with thy fathers.* 
Many that sleep in the dust shall awake. + Our 
friend Lazareth sleepeth.i Stephen fell asleep. § 
I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, 
concerning them which are asleep, that ye sor- 
row not even as others, which have no hope. 
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will 
God bring with him. For we which are alive 
and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall 
not prevent them which are asleep. || Some are 
fallen asleep. They are fallen asleep in Christ.1T 
The fathers fell asleep."** The inspired writers 
seem to delight in the metaphor, when applied 
to the death of the faithful : and what can be 
more expressive ? The weary labourer lays 
himself down to sleep till the morning, and the 
Christian takes his sleep in the grave till the 
morning of the resurrection, only with this es- 
sential difference : th^fcommon sleep of nature 
deprives us of the natural light, but the sleep of 
death brings the believer to the vision of the 
true, and otherwise inaccessible light. Why, 

* Dent, xxxi, 16, and 2 Sam. vii, 12. t Dan. xii, 2. 
I John xi, 11. § Acts vii, 60. 

|| 1 Thcss. iv, 13, 14, 15. U 1 Cor. xv, 6, 18. 

* * 2 Pet. iu, 4* 



58 ' MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

then, should the Christian be afraid of death? 
Surely, he may take the serpent into his bosom ; 
for he has not only lost his sting, but is recon- 
ciled to the believer, and become one of his 
party. Therefore, says Saint Paul, " Whether 
life or death, all is yours :" and again, " To me, 
to live is Christ, and to die is gain." And well 
may the Christian rejoice in death, and wel- 
come the pleasing messenger ; for it is the hand 
of death which draws the curtain, and lets him 
in to see God nice to face in heaven, that palace 
of inestimable pleasure and delight, where the 
strongest beams of glory shall beat fully upon 
our faces^ and we shall be made strong enough 
to bear them. Neither does death do any real 
injury to our bodies, since they shall be new 
moulded at the resurrection ; when " this mortal 
shall put on immortality, and this corruptible put 
on incorruption :" when these dull lumps shall 
become as impalpable as the angelic nature, 
subtle as a ray of light, bright as the sun, nim- 
ble as lightning. — Who is there, that is truly 
armed with this helmet of salvation, this hope of 
heaven, who would for a moment desire to have 
the law of death reversed ? Surely a holy soul 
may frequently be breathing forth desires (though 
with due resignation) after the kind office of 
death, to deliver it into so great and incompre- 
hensible a glory. 

IV. I now proceed, in the fourth place, to draw 
some inferences from what has been advanced. 

1st. If death be so certain and unavoidable, 
and it be "appointed 'unto men once to die," 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 89 

what exquisite folly is it to suffer our affections 
to cleave to any thing here below ! How pain- 
ful must the parting be, when we are drawn 
from our dearest idols, from our chief joy ! — 
How different is the concluding scene of the 
pious and the unregenerate ! Angels are waiting 
to receive the former, and to accompany them 
to their beloved Bridegroom, their adorable 
Lord : whilst devils are ready tqseize upon the 
latter, and to bring them to their place of tor- 
ment. Some of the voluptuous Heathens were 
accustomed to bring in the resemblance of an 
anatomy to their feasts, in order to remind their 
guests of their favourite motto, " Let us eat and 
drink, for to-morrow w r e die :" let us indulge 
ourselves in every pleasure of sense, since anni- 
hilation daily approaches, and we shall then sink 
into an eternal sleep. How much better is the 
advice of the Apostle : "But this I say, brethren, 
the time is short. It remaineth, that both they 
that have wives, be as though they had none ; 
and they that weep, as though they wept not ; 
and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced 
not ; and they that buy, as though they pos- 
sessed not ; and they that use this world as not 
abusing it ; for the fashion of this world passeth 
away."* Why should any thing this world can 
allure us with, be of any price in a wise man's" 
esteem ? Both they and we perish in the using : 
they are dying comforts ; and we must die who 
enjoy them. And, therefore, 

2dly. As we must all shortly die, let us labour 
* 1 Cor. vii, 29, 30, 31, 



90 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

to be always in readiness and preparation for the* 
awful hour. On this head of my discourse I shall 
only lay down a few short directions, and then 
proceed to the more immediate subject of our 
meeting. 

1. Wean your hearts from the love of the 
world. Death must and will pluck you from it. 
Why, then, should you toil, and waste your 
lives on so precarious, so transitory an object? 
Every thing below is fading ; but your precious 
souls are immortal. Be not, therefore, unequally 
yoked ; join not your ever living souls to dying 
comforts : this would be a tyranny worse than 
that which was exercised by those of old, who 
tied living bodies to dead carcasses. When 
you take your eternal farewell of all sublunary 
enjoyments, what lingering looks will you cast 
on those dear nothings, those miserable follies, 
which you clasped round your heart, unless 
Almighty grace has wrenched your affections 
from them : whilst the soul which is crucified 
to the world, and the world to it, — which sits 
loose to every thing below, spreads its wings 
and takes its glad flight to realms where bliss 
and love immortal reign. Soon will the films 
fall off from the eyes of worldlings. When they 
stand before the awful bar of God, with what as- 
tonishment will they behold the men whom they 
once despised, shining as the stars of the firma- 
ment at the right hand of the Judge. " They 
shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be 
amazed at the strangeness of the salvation c r *^^ 
righteous, so far beyond all which they k i 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 91 

for ; and repenting and groaning for anguish of 
spirit, they shall say within themselves, These 
were they whom we had sometimes in derision, 
and a proverb of reproach. We fools accounted 
their lives madness ; and their end to be without 
honour. Now are they numbered among the 
children of God, and their lot is among the 
saints !" And then will the final separation 
take place ; those who were here dead to the 
world, and walked with God, shall ascend up to 
the marriage supper of the Lamb, and be ever 
with their Lord, while the others sink down into 
the place prepared for the devil and his angels. 

2. Would you be prepared for death, then 
delay not your conversion (if you be unregener- 
ate) for another day* Get an interest in Christ 
as soon as possible. By earnest prayer and 
active faith, press into the liberty of the children 
of God. Remember Him who has said, " Many 
shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able." It 
is not an empty wish or languishing endeavour, 
which will serve the turn. He that is but almost 
a Christian, shall but almost be saved. You 
must "strive to enter in at the strait gate." 
To those who thus knock, it shall certainly be 
opened. God delights to bless the earnestly 
seeking soul. 

3. Live every day as if it were your last, and 
the next were allotted for eternity. It may be 
so : and when we consider the importance of 
eternal things, of the everlasting happiness of 
the blessed, and the everlasting miseiy of the 
impenitent, it should lead us to leave nothing to 



92 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

the hazard. — For there is no end of procrasti- 
nation. There will be the same tempting devil, 
and the same treacherous heart to-morrow as 
to-day, only made more treacherous by delay. 
Therefore, " now is the accepted time, now is 
the day of salvation. Now, while it is called 
to-day, harden not your hearts." Do you think 
you can be happy too soon ? Or do you think 
that God will accept of the dregs of your life, 
when you have given the strength of it to vanity, 
folly, and the devil ? Begin, therefore, to live 
to God every day and every hour. 

4. You, who are believers, be constant in the 
exercise of a holy life. Let your fellowship be 
with the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ. 
Labour to walk in the light, as God is in the 
light, and the blood of Christ Jesus his Son shall 
cleanse you from all sin. Walk as heirs of 
heaven, led and moved by the Spirit of Christ in 
you. Live habitually by faith in the Son of 
God, who loved you, and gave himself for you. 
Be much in the exercise of the presence of 
God ; and he will more and more smile upon you, 
and more and more reveal himself to you. You 
shall be strong in the Lord, and in the power of 
his might, and shall overcome the wicked one : 
yea, you shall be more than conquerors, through 
him that hath loved you. 

5. Lastly, Take care to preserve an abiding 
witness of the favour of God. Watch unto 
prayer for this. There is nothing else will sup- 
port you in the dying hour ; there is nothing else 
will make you comfortable through life. To re- 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROCERS. 93 

tain a clear sense of your interest in Jesus Christ, 
a constant assurance of the love of God — O this 
wiH turn the waste wilderness of the world into 
a little paradise ; it will enable you to triumph 
with the poet : — 

" Should [Providence] command me to the farthest verge 
Of the green earth, to distant barb'rous climes, 
,r Tis nought to me : 
Since God is ever present, ever felt ; 
In the void waste as in the city full : 
And where he vital breathes there must be joy." 

Above all, at the hour of death, what can 
support us but this mighty blessing; and it will 
support the believer. For whom will it not com- 
fort to think that death will change his bottle into 
a spring? Though here our water sometimes 
fails us, yet, in heaven, where we are going, we 
shall bathe ourselves in an infinite ocean of de- 
lights, lying at the breasts of an infinite fountain 
of life and sweetness. Whoever has such an 
assurance, cannot but welcome death, embracing 
it not only with contentment, but delight : and 
while the soul is struggling and striving to un- 
clasp itself, and to get loose from the body, it 
cannot but say, with holy longings and pantings, 
" Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." 

V. I proceed, in the fifth and last place, to 
present you with an epitome of the experience, 
death, and character of our deceased friend, Mrs. 
Hester Ann Rogers. 

She was born at Macclesfield, in Cheshire, 
on the 31st of January, 1756 ; of which place 
her father was minister for many years. She 



94 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

was trained up in the observance of all outward 
duties, and in the fear of those sins, which, in 
these modern times, are too often deemed ac- 
complishments. She was followed by divine im- 
pressions from her childhood, and was early drawn 
out to secret prayer. From four years old, she 
never remembered going to bed without saying 
her prayers, except once. When she wanted 
any thing, or was in pain, or grief, she fled to 
God in secret; and it would be incredible to 
some, how often she received manifest answers 
to prayer in that early period of her life. 

In the ninth year of her age, her pious father 
dying, her mother was prevailed on to let her 
learn to dance, in order to raise her spirits, and 
improve her carriage. — This was a fatal stab to 
her divine impressions ; it paved the way to 
lightness, trifling, love of pleasure, and various 
evils. As she soon made a proficiency, she de- 
lighted much in this ensnaring folly. Yet in all 
this she was not left without keen convictions, 
gentle drawings, and many short-lived good 
resolutions. 

When she arrived at the age of fourteen, the 
Lord visited her with affliction : during this ill- 
ness she had an alarming dream, which, together 
with the danger attending her disorder, made a 
deep impression on her mind for some time. But 
alas ! her health and strength were no sooner 
restored, than (being solicited by her companions 
in gay life) she again returned to her former 
follies ; such as balls, plays, dress, assemblies 
&c, the love of which continued to grow upon 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 95 

her more and more, for upwards of two years, 
and nearly engrossed the whole of her time. 

After this she was deeply wrought upon by a 
sermon which the Rev. Mr. Simpson, of Mac- 
clesfield, preached on, " What shall it profit a 
man, if he gain the whole world and lose his 
own soul." And soon after felt further convic- 
tions under another which he preached upon the 
new birth, from John iii, 3. She now saw and 
felt as she had never done before, that she must 
experience that divine change or perish. 

In April, 1774, on the Sunday before Easter, 
Mr. Simpson preached from John vi, 44, " No 
man can come unto me, except the Father, 
which hath sent me, draw him." Under this 
sermon she felt herself indeed a lost perishing 
sinner ; a rebel against repeated convictions, and 
a condemned criminal by the law of God, who 
deserved to be sentenced to eternal pain ! She 
felt she had broken her baptismal vow, her sacra- 
mental vows, and had no title to any mercy or 
any hope ! She wept aloud, so that all around 
her were amazed ; nor was she any longer 
ashamed to own the cause. She went home, 
ran up stairs, and fell on her knees, and made a 
solemn vow to renounce and forsake all her sin- 
ful pleasures, and trifling companions. 

She could not eat, or sleep, or take any com- 
fort. The curses throughout the whole Bible 
seemed pointed all at her, and she could not 
claim a single promise. Thus she continued 
till Good Friday. After many conflicts she 
ventured once more to approach the Lord's 



96 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

table. As the minister was reading that sentence 
in the communion service, " If any man sin, we 
have an Advocate," &c, a ray of divine light was 
darted into her soul, and she was enabled to be- 
lieve there was mercy for her ; she felt a degree 
of love to God spring up in her heart, and in a 
measure could rejoice in him. But alas ! this 
was only for a short season ! She had never 
yet heard the Methodists, nor had she lost all 
her prejudices against them ; but a neighbour 
who had lately found peace with God, advised 
her strongly to hear them : she resolved to go 
privately, and went accordingly at five o'clock 
one morning. The text was, " Comfort ye, 
comfort ye my people, saith your God." She 
thought every word the preacher said was for 
her : he spoke to her heart, as if he had known 
all the secret workings there. She was much 
comforted, her prejudices were now fully re- 
moved, and she received a full and clear con- 
viction, " these are the people of God." 

She met with a little pamphlet, entitled, " The 
great duty of believing on the Son of God." She 
was much encouraged on reading this ; and would 
gladly have spent the night in prayer : but her 
mother (with whom she slept) would not suffer 
it. She therefore went to bed, but could not 
sleep ; and at four in the morning rose again, 
that she might wrestle with the Lord. She 
prayed, but it seemed in vain ! the heavens ap- 
peared as brass ; and hope seemed almost sunk 
into despair ! When suddenly the Lord spake 
that promise to her heart : " Believe on the Lord 



MRS* HESTER ANN ROGERS. 97 

Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." She 
revived, and cried, " Lord, I know this is t y 
word, and I can depend upon it." Again it 
came, " Only believe." " Lord Jesus," said she, 
" I will, I do believe : I now venture my whole 
salvation upon thee as God ! I put my guilty 
soul into thy hands ; thy blood is sufficient ! I 
cast my soul upon thee for time and eternity." 
Then did he appear to her salvation : in that 
moment her bands were loosed : her soul was 
set at liberty ; and the love of God so shed abroad 
in her heart, that she rejoiced with joy unspeak- 
able ; and for eight months she experienced no 
interruption to her bliss. 

But now the Lord began to reveal in her 
heart, that sin was not all destroyed : for though 
she had constant victory over it, yet she felt the 
remains of anger, pride, self-will, and unbelief, 
often rising, which occasioned a degree of heavi- 
ness and sorrow. At first she was much amazed 
to feel such things. 

About this time the Lord was pleased to make 
the preaching of Mr. Duncan Wright a great 
blessing to her. He clearly explained the nature 
of salvation from inbred sin ; and showed it to 
be as freely promised in Scripture, and as fully 
purchased by the blood of Jesus, as pardon. 
Henceforth she could not rest, but cried to the 
Lord night and day, to cast out the strong man, 
and all his armour of unbelief and sin. 

On the morning of February 22, 1776, when 
at prayer, her intercourse was open with her 
Beloved, and various promises were presented 
7 



98 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

to her view. She thought, Shall I now ask small 
blessings only of my God 1 Lord, make this the 
moment of my full salvation ! Baptize me now 
with the Holy Ghost, and the fire of pure love. 
Now, cleanse the thoughts of my heart, and let 
me perfectly love thee." 

Thus she continued agonizing till the Lord 
applied that promise, " I will circumcise thy 
heart, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart." She said, " Lord thou art faith- 
ful, and this is thy word ; I cast my whole sou! 
upon thy promise. Now, Lord, I do believe ; 
this moment thou dost save. Yea, Lord, my 
soul is delivered of her burden. I am emptied 
of all ; I am at thy feet, a helpless, worthless 
worm ; but I take hold of thee as my fulness I 
Every thing that I want, thou art. Thou art 
wisdom, strength, love, holiness : yea, and thou 
art mine ! Love sinks me into nothing : it over. 
llow r s my soul. O my Jesus, thou art all in all- 
in thee I behold and feel all the fulness of the 
Godhead mine ! I am now one with God : — the 
intercourse is open : — sin, inbred sin, no longer 
hinders the close communion, and God is all my 
own !" 

She now walked in the unclouded light of his 
countenance ; and yet she did not feel so much 
rapturous joy as she had been led to expect : but 
was rather, as it were, overwhelmed with that 

" Sacred awe, which dares not move, 
And all that silent heaven of love." 

She resolved at first not to declare openly 
what the Lord had wrought ; but it was seen in 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 99 

tier countenance : and when asked respecting it, 
she durst not deny the wonders of his love ! and 
she soon found that repeating his goodness con- 
firmed her own faith more and more. 

From this time we may clearly perceive the 
increase of her joy in God, and her deep com- 
munion with him, from her private diary, where 
she writes as follows : 

" On Trinity Sunday, June 1776, I met in the 
select society at six in the morning, and it was 
a blessed season to my soul. 

" Mr. Wright dwelt a little on the equal love 
of each person in the adorable Trinity, in a 
manner which I found truly profitable : after- 
ward he preached from Ephes. ii, 18, < Through 
him we both have access by one Spirit unto the 
Father.' He showed the distinct relative offices 
of Father, Son, and Spirit, in man's salvation, 
and that the love of the Father was ever equal ; 
as also that of the Son, and that of the Holy 
Ghost : that all the designs of the Son were 
the designs of the Father also, and of the Holy 
Ghost. He also spoke much of the near union 
and communion with God, which believers might 
enjoy, especially those perfected in love. My 
soul was led into depths unspeakable, and saw 
such a fulness of God ready for me to plunge 
into, that what I now felt seemed only as a drop 
compared with the ocean ! As I came into the 
chapel yard, I felt peculiar union with the adora- 
ble Jesus, in all his offices of redeeming love ; 
and that verse of a hymn was so powerfully 
sweet as I had never felt it before : — 



100 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS* 

" The opening heavens around me shine, 
With beams of sacred bliss j 
While Jesus shows his mercy mine, 
And whispers I am his." 

" I was deeply penetrated with his presence? 
and stood as if unable to move, and was insen- 
sible to all around me. While thus lost in com- 
munion with my Saviour, he spake those words 
to my heart, — * All that I have is thine ! I am 
Jesus, in whom dwells all the fulness of the 
Godhead bodily — I am thine ! — My Spirit is 
thine ! — My Father is thine ! — They love thee, 
as I love thee — the whole Deity is thine I — All 
God is, and all he has, is thine ! — He even now 
overshadows thee ! — He now covers thee with a 
cloud of his presence.' All this was so realized 
to my soul, in a manner I cannot explain that I 
sunk down motionless, being unable to sustain 
the weight of his glorious presence and fulness 
of love. At the altar this was renewed to me, 
but not in so large a measure. I believe, indeed, 
if this had continued as I felt it before, but for one 
hour, mortality must have been dissolved, and the 
soul dislodged from its tenement of clay. 

"Friday, 21. — I prove, through boundless 
mercy and free grace, an increasing intercourse 
and communion with my God every day* I 
live and move in him alone! — Wherever I go, 
whatever I do, I feel the presence of the great 
Three One. — 'Yea, he dvvelleth with me, and 
shall be in me.' This is his promise to my 
soul. I feel I am under his loving eye, and the 
continual guidance of his Spirit. I do indeed 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 101 

dwell in God, and God in me ! O love unsearch- 
able to such a worm !— 

* I loath myself when God I see, 
And into nothing fall !' 

" Sunday, 23. — In meeting with the select 
society again, I had unspeakable communion 
with the blessed Trinity ! I had the same at the 
preaching also. Mr. PercivaPs text was, *■ O 
God, thou art my God.' A sense of the Divine 
presence almost overcame my body. All the 
day I have been filled with a solemn weight 
of love, and swallowed up in God the eternal 
Father, Saviour, Comforter. At church, while 
that anthem was sung, * I know that my Re- 
deemer liveth,' &c, I was so overwhelmed with 
the power of God, and had such a foretaste of 
his glory, I thought I should have died ! O the 
depths of his indulgent, condescending love ! He 
knows my trials, and the need I have of such 
consolations to strengthen and support my weak- 
ness. I live by faith — this is my soul's strong 
anchor, which lays hold on Omnipotence, and 
receives a momentary supply for every w r ant. 
My God is always near — he is my one object, 
the centre and end of all my desires. He is my 
all in all." 

After a wonderful chain of divine leadings 
and remarkable providences, on August 19, 
1784, she was married to Mr. Rogers, in whom 
the Lord gave her a helpmate for glory ; just 
such a partner as she needed to strengthen her. 
He made them of one heart and one soul ; and 
for above ten years crowned their union with hia 



102 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

constant smile. Soon after their marriage they 
went to Dublin, where Mr. Rogers was appointed 
to labour. In that city they were gladly received, 
and the Lord gave them the hearts of the peo- 
ple. They saw a blessed revival of the work 
of God : and in three years the number in 
society was increased more than double. From 
thence they removed to Cork, where also the 
Lord graciously revived his work. His word 
greatly prospered and prevailed ; and many in 
that city still remember with gratitude, the happy 
seasons which they enjoyed together. And it 
appears from what our dear friend wrote of her- 
self when there, that she never before was more 
happy in her own soul, nor enjoyed deeper com- 
munion with her God, than during her stay in 
that city. After spending three years in Cork, 
they removed to London ; and for two years re- 
sided in Mr. Wesley's house at the new chapel ; 
where they also had the happiness of seeing the 
work of God prosper : many souls were brought 
into Christian liberty ; and in two years, not less 
than five hundred were added to the society, in 
the city and suburbs. Here, indeed, it might 
be said, " The walls of Jerusalem were built in 
troublesome times." The awful event of Mr. 
Wesley's death, which happened during the re- 
sidence of Mr. and Mrs. Rogers at the City 
Road, rendered their situation exceedingly cri- 
tical and trying, as many of you well know. 

In August, 1792, the conference stationed Mr. 
Rogers here, (at Spitalfields,) in order to put this 
chapel and the adjoining dwelling house into a 



MUS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. l03 

state of good repair ; in which labour of love he 
was truly indefatigable ^ you now reap the be- 
nefit, and are thankful that you can here retire, 
and worship God in peace. Notwithstanding 
the work necessary to be done upon the pre- 
mises was great; yet, before the end of Octo- 
ber, Mrs. Rogers and the children were com- 
fortably placed in their new habitation ; and a 
few days afterward she wrote in her diary as 
follows : 

" I feel grateful to my God that I am placed 
here, though but for a season ; where I can 
enjoy more of retirement, and less of busy life. 
My God is with me, and I trust he will draw 
and unite more fully to himself his helpless 
creature ! I have power with him in prayer, and 
I know he will answer my enlarged request, for 
myself, my other self, and our offspring. I long 
for a yet larger measure of the mind of Christ ; 
more of every grace, and a deeper communion 
with my God. All temptations respecting con- 
flicts with Satan in death are vanished, I know 
my Joshua will be with me in Jordan, and see 
me safe through ! Sometimes I have thought I 
shall have to pass that river before it be long ; 
but that I leave to him. I feel no desire of life ; 
but when I see my dear husband oppressed with 
trials, and my living seems as if it would be a 
help and comfort to him ; or, when a silent wish 
arises, to see my children grown, and partakers 
of regenerating grace : but I am kept from 
anxiety." 

During her state of pregnancy, she had mi^-h 



104 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

bodily affliction, and was reduced very low. 
The state of her soul will best appear from her 
own words ; as also the narrow escape from 
death which she then had, at the time of her 
delivery. 

"January 1, 1793. — I had not much sleep, 
yet I arose refreshed, and resolved to live for 
God alone. I feel him mine ; and that I am 
offered to him without reserve. I know various 
bodily oppressions, natural to my present state, 
hinder my rejoicing as much in him as at other 
times ; but my trust is fixed on his Almighty 
love ! and I feel I cannot trust in vain. He is 
my strong helper ; and my painful feelings do 
work for my good, for they lead me to cast my 
helplessness upon his fulness, and to seek my 
all from him alone. Yes, and I trust to prove 
the utmost of these sweet lines :— 

"I shall suffer and fulfil 
All my Father's gracious will ; 
Be in all alike resign'd, 
Jesus' is a patient mind.' 

" On April the 20th, I suffered much in lin- 
gering labour pains, and at night saw it needful 
to send for the doctor. He came, and hoped I 
should soon be delivered ; but at midnight my 
pains left me. I was tolerably easy all the next 
day ; and enabled in patience to wait the Lord's 
leisure. I slept better that night than I had 
done for some weeks, and was greatly refreshed. 
In the morning lingering labour came on again ; 
and the pain was so excruciating and constant, 
(though unavailable,) that I thought I must have 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 105 

expired ! Having continued in this state about 
six hours, my labour came on with uncommon 
violence and rapidity, so that in a few minutes 
I was mercifully delivered of a lovely girl. But 
Oh ! it was nature's agony indeed ! For a little 
time, gratitude unspeakable overflowed my heart, 
and body and soul experienced a heaven. — But 
this was soon passed, and I was thrown back 
upon the verge of eternity. Mr. Jones laboured 
to save me till the sweat ran down his temples 
for three hours ; and for twelve hours I was be- 
tween life and death ! I felt, however, no fears 
of dying ; and all within was peace. When 
capable of thought, I could view a blessed eter- 
nity with delight. I recovered very slowly, 
and at times suffered much ; but the Lord con- 
tinued to comfort rny soul ; and though few 
thought I should be restored, yet I believed I 
should. My dear husband suffered much on my 
account ; and I believe his tenderness greatly 
contributed to my recovery. 

" The Leeds conference drawing near, my 
dear partner left me on July 21, and in the 
night after, my Hester was seized with a malig- 
nant fever. The weather was uncommonly hot ; 
and what my fatigue and weakness were, my 
God only knows ! But he held me up that I 
did not sink ; and my soul was happy in his 
love. In this time of affliction I had peculiar 
intercourse with God in prayer, both with the 
family and in secret ; and I received manifest 
answers. On the seventh day the fever came 
to a crisis — my child was quite delirious, and 



106 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

very ill indeed ; but I felt fully resigned to the 
will of God respecting her life or death ? About 
nine in the evening, her piercing cries, through 
agonizing pain in her head, were very pitiable ; 
and I entreated the Lord, in the prayer of faith, 
to give her ease. He heard — he answered ! 
The pain was instantaneously removed, and she 
fell into a slumber ; but it soon appeared to be the 
sleep of death ! Her feet, legs, and hands were 
cold, her nails blue, and she was motionless till 
a little past four in the morning. Just then, a 
blister which I had put on her back began to 
rise, and signs of life appeared ; by degrees 
warmth returned to her arms, hands, and feet ; 
then motion, and lastly speech. After this, a 
mighty change appeared : her fever was gone, 
and the next day she sat up some hours, and 
continued to recover in a most wonderful man- 
ner. What cannot the Lord do? Upon the 
whole, when I look back, I can only wonder 
and adore ! repeating with the poet, 

1 1 stand and admire thy outstretch'd arm, 
Having walk'd through the lire, and sufFer'd no harm.' 

" Out of weakness surely I have been made 
strong, both as it respects body and soul. — What 
a feeble frame ! Yet, how am I strengthened of 
the Lord, to bear fatigue, loss of rest, and pain- 
ful sensations ! How helpless and unworthy ; yet 
comforted in my God — strengthened to do his 
will ; to offer up my child, and with entire re- 
signation to say, ' It is the Lord, let him do what 
seemeth him good !' How sweet also my pros- 
pects into a glorious eternity ! and when weak- 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 107 

est, no gloomy fears of entering those abodes : — 
but the blessed testimony, that where Jesus is, 
(' My Lord and my God !') there shall his serv- 
ant be, and shall see his face — ' his Godhead 
without a veil, wrapped up in Father, Son, and 
Spirit, for evermore.' " 

Upon leaving London, she writes as follows : — 
" Sunday, Sept. 1. — I heard Mr. Rogers at the 
new chapel in the morning, and had a blessed 
season. He also preached at Spitalfields in the 
evening, from, * Finally, brethren, farewell.' The 
singers at both places took leave by hymns 
adapted foi the purpose, very sweet and affect- 
ing. A mixture of love and friendly grief, to- 
gether with deep gratitude to God, filled my soul. 
Lord, remember this dear people wilh tenfold 
blessings ! On the two following days, the sim- 
ple-hearted affection shown by very many of 
God's dear children, affected me much. I saw 
my dear and only brother on Tuesday evening. 
I felt much at parting. I think we shall not 
meet again on earth. After this, I called upon 
our valuable friends, Tooth, Whitfield, Jones, 
and several others ; and then hastening to meet 
my dear husband at our kind friend's, Mr. Senols, 
where we supped. O thou God of love, preserve 
these until we meet them all again, where pain 
and parting are no more ! On Wednesday we 
dined at Mr. Ball's, and then hastened in a coach, 
with our children, to Mr. T. Shakspeare's, in 
Smithfield. It was Bartholomew's fair ; and such 
a scene, or rather manifold scenes of folly, my 
eyes never beheld, as were exhibited where once 



108 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

dying martyrs for Jesus offered up their latest 
breath ! With difficulty, but, thank God, with 
safety, we got through. I found my body very 
weak, and expected to faint ; but I had not been 
long in the coach before I was better. Through 
much mercy we arrived next day at Birmingham, 
where our friends received us kindly. On the 
ensuing Sabbath, Mr. Rogers preached from, ' I 
determined not to know any thing among you, 
save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.' The 
word was with power, and my soul was greatly 
comforted." 

It was thought a change of air and situation 
would be useful to our dear friend, and have been 
a means, under God, of strengthening her deli- 
cate constitution : but an obstinate windy com- 
plaint, with which she was attacked near three 
years before her dissolution, baffled all human 
skill, and repelled the force of every medicine, 
and never left her till the day of her death. 
During the last three or four months of her life, 
out of various other things, the following are 
extracted : — 

" Since I came to Birmingham the Lord has 
been very present with me : I have indeed been 
fed with the hidden manna of his love ! I have 
been peculiarly drawn out in prayer for the con- 
version of souls : and notwithstanding the enemy 
has laboured by various means to hinder this, yet 
the Lord hath given me to rejoice also herein. 
I feel my soul animated to praise my great Source 
of bliss ! May all I have, and all I am, be his 
devoted sacrifice for ever ! I feel it good to liv§ 



MRS* HESTER ANN ROGERS. 1C9 

by faith : it brings deep peace and present power. 
I never can watch so well as when I thus mo- 
mentarily believe. I have of late felt very poorly 
in body ; and have had a degree of dulness hang, 
ing on my spirit : but I fly to the Lord — I wrestle 
with him for its removal ; and I ever find he is 
a present God when I call upon him. And O ! 
how he opens his heaven of love afresh in my 
soul, by giving me unspeakable views of what 
my Jesus suffered in the body for me ! and the 
love and sympathy he still feels to every suffer- 
ing member. I have felt of late a deepening of 
the graces of faith, resignation, and entire de- 
pendancc on my God. And O ! how good is 
the Lord, that he should thus prepare me for what 
he knew would touch me in the tenderest part. 

" After a very restless night, my dear Patty 
broke out very full of the smallpox ; and for a 
fortnight I had much exercise for faith and pa- 
tience. But this was very little to what I felt on 
the return of my dearest husband from Barr, 
where (on May 19, 1793) he had a kind of apo- 
plectic fit. He fell down as sudden as if he had 
been shot — and still continues very unwell. Yet, 
in secret prayer, the Lord assured me he should 
not die, but live! O! what should I do at a 
time like this, if I had not a constant intercourse 
with my God ? But blessed be his dear name, 
I have access to him. He is indeed my refuge 
and strength, a very present help in trouble ; and 
fills my soul with strong consolation. 

"July 15, 1794. — For some time I have felt 
a desire, if the Lord saw good, to accompany 



110 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

my dear husband to the Bristol conference. It 
would be a gratification to see the dear children ; 
but much more do I desire to go on account of 
my dear partner's health, who has not yet re- 
covered his late awful attack. I was in suspense, 
however, until this day, whether I could go or 
not ; but now I see an opening in providence ; 
and although there is a hazard with respect to 
myself in taking such a journey in my present 
state, yet the Lord assures me he will preserve 
my going out and my coming in ; and greatly 
comforts my soul. On Tuesday, 22, we sat off 
at four in the morning, with Mr. Pawson, and 
as many more of the preachers as the coach 
could contain. We had a comfortable journey. 
I felt the Lord truly with me, and my body was 
in a wonderful manner strengthened ; so that I 
was astonished to feel no more fatigued when, 
about ten o'clock, Ave arrived at our kind friend's, 
Mr. Hartland. We had also a refreshing sleep, 
and arose, both of us, in better health than when 
we left home. May I deeply feel my many 
mercies as so many various pledges of my Fa- 
ther's love ! We found our three sweet boys, 
thank God, all in health, and overjoyed at see- 
ing us. Joseph is making swift progress in the 
printing business, and likely to make an excellent 
workman. Benjamin is approved by his master, 
beloved by his school- fellows, and, above all, I 
trust he truly fears God. My James is very 
childish, (he is but eight years old,) yet I think 
I see in him the dawnings of a noble spirit ; 
which, if governed by grace, will one day give 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. Ill 

us comfort in him also, and make him a blessing 
to thousands. 

" After different scenes and manifold consola- 
tions during the time of conference, on August 
10, we arose before three o'clock in the morning, 
and set off at four, on our journey home. Our 
friends were very affectionate, and our dear 
children also got up to see us set off, and we left 
them all well, though sorrowful to part. I 
claimed my Lord's promise to preserve me in 
coming in, as in going out ; and I proved him 
faithful. He did wonderfully strengthen my poor 
body, and sustain my soul with his heartfelt 
presence. We arrived safe in our habitation by 
nine in the evening, and found the three children 
we had left, all well. And though I felt inex- 
pressibly weary, yet, to be brought safe in so 
critical a situation, (not two months from the 
time of my expected confinement,) filled my soul 
with unspeakable gratitude." 

During the few remaining weeks of her life, 
she continued to breathe the following sweet 
language of a saint truly ripe for God : — 

"Monday, Sept. 1. — I had a good day ; my 
intercourse with heaven is truly open, and my 
soul stayed upon my God. Tuesday, 2, was a 
blessed day of nearness to God. His word was 
precious food ; and I found my heart enlarged 
in praise and love. Wednesday, 3, was also a 
day of inward comfort, though of bodily weak- 
ness. I had a very precious time in meeting 
my class. And although the poor sinners were 
baiting a bull by the window, I believe all, as 



112 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

well as myself, so felt the Divine presence, as 
not to be disturbed by the rabble. Thursday, 4, 
I had much cramp and little sleep in the night, 
which in some degree has weakened the animal 
frame ; but I feel peace in my God. Friday, 
5 : I believe in answer to prayer, I had refresh- 
ing, sleep, and was better in body this day, and 
my soul comforted in my God." Thus she goes 
on from day to day, expressing the same un- 
shaken confidence and comfort in her God, even 
until she could write and speak no more ! — The 
last words she was able to write in her journal 
are these : — " My body is very poorly, and has 
been so most of the week. O! what a clog to 
the animal spirit ! Yet I am kept in a praying, 
depending, resigned frame ; determined to trust 
my God with my all." 

On the 10th of October, 1794, the expected 
time of her travail being come, she was in great 
pain most of the day, and about eight o'clock in 
the evening she was delivered of a fine boy. 
She was not a little distressed by her inveterate 
windy disorder during her labour, but after her 
delivery she seemed much relieved. She lay 
composed for more than half an hour, with 
heaven in her countenance, praising God for his 
great mercy, and expressing her gratitude to all 
around her. She took Mr. Rogers by the hand, 
and said, " My dear, the Lord has been very 
kind to us : O he is good, indeed he is good ! 
But I'll tell you more by and by." She thanked 
the doctor, and told him she would remember 
his kindness and attention another $ay, and ex- 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 113 

pressed her entire satisfaction in all he had done* 
But, alas ! in a few minutes after this, her ter- 
rible complaint returned with redoubled violence, 
and instantly threw her whole frame into a state 
of agitation not to be described. A medicine 
just then arrived from the doctor, which she 
took ; but all in vain. After a severe struggle 
for about fifteen minutes, bathed all over with a 
clammy, cold sweat, she laid her head on her 
husband's bosom, and said, " I am going." Mr. 
Rogers, recovering a little from the dreadful feel- 
ings he had experienced, found a desire to pro- 
pose a question or two to his dear wife, relative 
to the state of her soul ; not for his own satis- 
faction ; for (as he observed to me) he could as 
soon call in question the truth of revelation, and 
of all religious experience from the beginning, 
as doubt of her eternal happiness : but he did 
this that God might be glorified, as in her life, so 
by her death. In the presence of many of her 
friends who were standing by, he said to her, 
" My dearest creature, is Jesus precious ?" She 
replied, "Yes, O yes, yes." He added, "My 
dearest love, I know Jesus Christ has long been 
your all in all ; can you now tell us he is so ?" 
She replied, " I can — he is — yes — but I am not 
able to speak." He again said, " O my dearest, 
it is enough." She then attempted to lift up her 
face to his, and kissed him with her quivering 
lips and latest breath. About ten o'clock (two 
hours after her delivery) she gently fell asleep 
in Jesus, in the thirty-ninth year of her age, 
leaving her inanimate clay in her dearest hus- 
8 



114 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

band's arms, and seyen children to lament their 
unspeakable loss. 

Thus lived, and thus died one of the best of 
women. Almost every thing that is good may 
be said of her, if she be viewed as a daughter, 
a wife, a mother, a friend, a private Christian, 
or as a public person, particularly as a leader 
of classes and bands, in the Methodist society. 
Almighty grace, to which alone be ascribed a)l 
the glory, got to itself indeed a victory in this 
amiable woman. 

Her filial duty is hardly to be exceeded. Whilst 
she indulged herself in those pleasures which the 
world calls innocent, but which the children of 
God in all ages have known to be inconsistent 
with vital religion, she enjoyed the smiles of her 
mother, and of a flattering world. But no sooner 
did she become a confessor of Christ, but the 
clouds of persecution lowered, and afterward 
fell down upon her with great severity. Her 
mother not only confined her for a considerable 
time, but at last gave her the alternative of leav- 
ing her house, or of becoming her proper servant. 
She preferred the latter ; and though brought up 
in the most delicate manner, and of a very re- 
spectable family, she submitted to the degrada- 
tion, and for several months went through all 
the most menial offices with a patience and 
meekness not to be shaken. Her mother find- 
ing her incorrigibly pious and steady to her God, 
(enthusiastic as her mother would have termed 
it,) for the sake of her own honour, raised hex 
again from the ashes to the state of a child* 



MRS. HESTER.ANN ROGERS. 115 

But all this time Miss Roe discovered nothing 
but the height of filial affection ; and continued 
so to do in every instance till her mother's death. 
Her conjugal affection was equally great and 
steady ; and indeed (as may be observed from 
what has been already said) Mr. Rogers stood 
in need of such a help meet for him. When he 
was stationed in London as the assistant preacher, 
his steady attachment to the Methodist discipline 
raised up many powerful and bitter enemies 
against him. His sufferings were inexpressible, 
and his constitution very much impaired there- 
by ; though at the same time it must be observed, 
that a unanimous vote of thanks was granted 
him by the Methodist conference, for his exer- 
tions and his immoveable patience and fortitude 
in defence of Methodism. Mrs. Rogers was, to 
my knowledge, during those three years of severe 
trial, his support indeed. More true conjugal 
love could not, I think, be manifested by a wife 
to her husband, than was by her, both at that 
time, and, I verily believe, upon all occasions. 
It seems probable, that she had received some 
secret intimations of her death, before she was 
taken in labour ; which appears to be proved by 
a copy of verses which w r ere found among some 
of her choice papers a little after her death. 
Those glowing effusions, which may be expected 
to flow from the heart of a most affectionate 
wife, are so evidently displayed in these lines, 
that I transcribe the whole : 

" My hour is come, and angels round me wait, 
To take me to their glorious happy state j 



J 16 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

Where, free from sickness, death, and every pain, 
I shall with God in endless pleasures reign. 

"Transporting thought ! Thou dearest man, adieu ! 
I feel no sorrow but in leaving you ; 
O thou, my comfort, thought, and only care, 
In these last words thy kindness I'll declare. 

4 ' In truth, in constancy, in faithful love, 
Few could you equal, none superior prove ; 
Compell'd by frequent sickness to complain, 
You strove to lessen and V assuage my pain. 

" A tender care you never fail'd to show, 
A constant sharer in my present wo. 

" More I would say, my gratitude to own, 
But breath forsakes me, and my pulse is gone : 

Adieu, dear man! — O spare 

This flood of grief, and of thy health take care. 

" My blessing to my babes : thou wilt be kind 
To the dear infants whom I leave behind 
Train them to virtue, piety and truth, 
And form their manners early in their youth. 

" Farewell to all who now on me attend, 
The faithful servant, and the weeping friend ; 
The time is short till we shall meet again, 
With Christ, to share the glories of his reign." 

Her maternal care and affection shone equally 
bright. Though she devoted much of her time 
to religious duties in public and private, yet 
nothing seemed to be left undone which could 
make her children comfortable and happy. She 
even prevented all their wants ; and was equally, 
nay, if it were possible, more attentive to Mr. 
Rogers's children by his former wife than to her 
own. To the whole of them she delighted to 
give " precept upon precept, precept upon pre* 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 117 

cept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little 
and there a little!" watering the whole of her 
labours upon them with many tears, and daily 
fervent prayers. 

As a friend, she was faithful, and immoveable 
in her attachments : nothing but her friends for- 
saking God, could induce her to abate her love 
for them. She was formed for society, and pos- 
sessed the most delicate feelings which could 
arise from the social principle. And when 
some of her dearest intimates treated her with 
neglect, on account of some disputes in the con- 
nection which they had nothing to do with, she 
could still weep, and love, and pray for them, 
not as unworthy of her friendship, or of the 
favour of God, but as led away from her by 
misinformation and error of understanding, and 
perhaps also by some deviations from the perfect 
love of God. 

But her forte, her greatest excellence, con- 
sisted in the enjoyment of her God. A very 
considerable part of her life evidenced, that sal- 
vation from sin, and salvation from sufferings, 
are very different things. Her firm patience 
under deep afflictions, has been rarely, if ever, 
exceeded. Her conduct in the hour of nature's 
sorrow, in every instance, astonished all who 
were near her ; and her sufferings on those 
occasions were very exquisite. Her animal 
spirits were astonishingly good at all times. 
She hardly ever in her life was in what is gene- 
rally termed low spirits. She was ever cheerful, 
never light ; and always ready to lift up the 



118 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

hands of her husband and her friends, and to 
encourage their hearts. She enjoyed for many 
years that glorious blessing, which St. John in 
the fourth chapter of his first epistle speaks of, 
as his own experience and that of many, of 
whom he was writing — that " perfect love of 
God, which casteth out all fear that hath tor- 
ment." In short, she walked with God, she 
lived in the blaze of Gospel day, and Christ was 
her all in all. 

And as a public person she was useful in a 
high degree. She never, indeed, assumed the 
authority of teaching in the church ; but she 
visited the fatherless and widows in their afflic- 
tion, and delighted to pour out her soul in prayer 
for them. Very many dying persons entered into 
the liberty of God's children, under her prayers 
and exhortations ; for she possessed a peculiar 
gift in bringing a present salvation home to the 
soul. The profit received in Macclesfield from 
her holy conversation, for years before she mar- 
ried, induced pious and mourning souls to visit 
her ; and a very considerable part of her time 
was daily spent in answering cases of con- 
science, spreading forth the loveliness and ex- 
cellences of Christ to penitents, and in building 
up believers in their most holy faith. She then 
was a leader of classes and bands, and a mother 
in Israel to the young believers intrusted to her 
care. After her marriage she still became more 
extensively useful. Mr. Rogers, on his enter- 
ing into a circuit, would only give a few to her 
care, desiring her to complete the class out of 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 119 

the world ; and soon, by her conversation and 
prayers, and attention to every soul within her 
reach, would the number spring up to thirty or 
forty ; and then her almost cruel husband, in 
this respect, for the glory of God, would trans- 
plant all the believers to other classes, and keep 
her thus continually working at the mine. In 
the city of Dublin only, Mr. Rogers himself con- 
fesses, some hundreds of those whom he received 
into societ} 7 , were brought to Christ, or were 
awakened, by her gentle, but incessant labours 
of love. In Cork also, and in London, a similar 
success attended her pious exertions. Thus did 
the Lord mould this blessed woman into his im- 
age, as the potter does his clay, and use her for 
his glory, as the ready writer does his pen, until 
she had served him in her generation, and he 
said unto her, It is enough, come up higher. 

GO, AND DO THOU LIKEWISE. 



APPENDIX 
To Mrs. Rogers's Funeral Sermon. 

WRITTEN BY HER HUSBAND. 

As this tremendous stroke of Divine provi- 
dence has wounded me in the tenderest nerve, I 
hope any irregularity of thought, or impropriety 
of expression, how r ever censurable on other oc- 
casions, will be pardoned by the candid reader, 



120 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

in the present instance ; especially as he will 
perceive, in the preceding sermon, that mine is 
more than a common loss. 

The valuable pamphlet lately published by 
my dear companion, which contains a clear ac- 
count of her experience from her childhood, 
supersedes many remarkable occurrences, which 
should otherwise have followed in this supple- 
ment ; and as that little performance either is, 
or may be, in the possession of any friend who 
desires it, I am unwilling to say the same things, 
which are ranged there in a better manner than 
I feel adequate to, under my present circum- 
stances. If what follows is made useful to any 
of my friends, the return I desire is a constant 
interest in their sympathetic prayers, that I may 
be supported under my irreparable loss, and 
enabled to conduct myself in all things, during 
this most awful, trying scene, not like a stoic, 
but as a Christian. 

In my dear companion, I have certainly lost 
one of the best helpmates man was ever united to. 
Her feeling sympathy and faithful love were, I 
believe, seldom equalled, and never exceeded ! 
With hers, my soul still feels, as it were, en- 
twined and interwoven. She was (under God) 
the centre and constant spring of all my domes- 
tic happiness. In her I have not only lost one of 
the most valuable and faithful wives ; but my 
dear children, at the same time, are bereft of a 
most tender, affectionate parent, who always 
had their interest and happiness at heart. 

But what is incomparably more afflictive still 



>JRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 121 

to me, I have lost, in her, my best help in spirit- 
ual things ! She always gave me uncommon 
assistance in my labours, and greatly soothed all 
my cares and anxieties for the church's weal or 
wo. She was ever my comforter in the time of 
sorrow. The evenness of her temper, and the 
cheerfulness of her disposition, both in sickness 
and in health, were wonderful ! I never saw, for 
one moment, any thing like gloom in her coun- 
tenance ; neither do I remember one trifling 
word ever to drop from her lips ; but, on the 
contrary, she was always ready for spiritual con- 
versation ; and no company pained her mind 
equal to that where religious subjects were un- 
pleasing or impracticable. Witness her own 
words, soon after our arrival in Dublin : — 

" Mrs. invited us to dinner, where we 

met with much gay company. Dr. took 

up the attention of the whole, with his trifling, 
ridiculous conversation, so that it was a very 
unprofitable season ; and I cried to the Lord in 
my spirit, that we might have no more such 
visits as these !" — And, thank God, we had no 
more such while we continued in that city : but, 
on the contrary, our visits in general, were seri- 
ous, spiritual, and profitable, so that some time 
afterward she remarks : 

" We dined with Mr. S , and Mr. Henry 

Brook was with us. He appears to be a man of 
deep piety, and the conversation was profitable. 
Blessed be God, all our visits since the first, 
have been more to his glory. My soul feels 
much nearness to the people, and a sweet assur- 



122 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS, 

ance we shall be blessed among them, and made 
a blessing. — O ! for a heart-reviving shower of 
grace, and pentecostal blessings ! The Lord I 
know sent us here, and surely it is for the good 
of souls : — My God, let this be promoted, and 
thou shalt have the endless praise !" 

Such was our union of soul and sentiment, that 
the secrets of our hearts were always open to 
each other. And it was no small consolation to 
me, that I had one upon earth so dear to God, 
who both knew and approved of all the motives, 
from which I acted in public, as well as in pri- 
vate life. Hence it was, that from a conviction 
of her duty to God, she was ever ready to resist 
the unkindness of my opponents, and warn me 
against the craftiness of pretended friends ! and 
her penetration herein was astonishing, so that 
I do not remember I ever relied upon her judg- 
ment, or acted by her advice, but I found it good. 

As to her literary abilities, they were rather 
out of the common way. She had a critical 
knowledge of the English tongue ; and her 
application to reading from her infancy, made 
her capable of conversing upon almost any sub- 
ject, whether of an historical, philosophical, or 
theological nature. 

With respect to the labours of her pen, she 
was, of all I ever knew among her sex, the most 
assiduous. Writing seemed to be her peculiar 
talent ; and she took great delight therein, even 
from her childhood. And yet, she never on that 
account, or, indeed, on any other, once neglected 
any part of her domestic duty. She might be 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 123 

truly said to husband her time in order to im- 
prove this talent. While I was absent an hour 
one morning, breakfasting with a friend : — (and 
although she was prevented by sickness from 
accompanying me,) upon my return she, with 
her usual smile, presented me with the follow, 
ing acrostic upon our marriage union : — 

" J esus, the source supreme of our delight, 
A nd soul of all our joys, of all our might, 
M ade us of twain inseparably one, 
E ver to love as he hath loved his own, 
S o may we love — as Jesus loves his bride, 
A nd nothing shall his love from her divide ; 
N othing make twain the souls whom God hath join'd ; 
D eath only leaves mortality behind. 

H eaven shall complete our union here begun, 

E ndless as vast eternal circles run. 

S ay, shall not then thy spirit join with mine, 

T o praise the wonders of the plan divine ! 

E ach vie with other, which shall swiftest move, 

R eady to strike afresh our harps above, 

A nd bless the Saviour, through whose love we love ! 

N o hand but thine, dear Jesus, mark'd the road, 

N o wisdom, love, or power, but that of God 

R esolved to bless — He to each other gave ; 

O h ! that through life — His utmost power to save ; 

G race upon grace, our happy souls may prove ; 

E nwrapp'd, implunged, and swallow'd up in love : 

R eady to clap the wing — His call obey, 

S oar up together — Love in endless day !" 

My dear partner never considered herself a 
poet, and rarely attempted any thing of the kind ; 
nevertheless, these lines will show she was not 
entirely without this talent also. 

Some of her letters, with a few other produc- 
tions in prose, have appeared in print ; but these 
are very small compared with the numerous 



124 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

manuscripts she has left. Besides the vast 
quantity of letters which she wrote to her pious 
correspondents, she kept a diary of her life, from 
the time of her conversion to God, (which was 
in the seventeenth year of her age,) till within a 
few days of her death. So that I am favoured 
with, I believe, not less than three thousand 
quarto pages, all written by her own hand : and 
every page clearly discovers that for the space 
of more than twenty years, she enjoyed constant 
fellowship and communion with a Triune God; 
and that she never forsook her first love, nor lost 
a sense of the Divine favour, from the day of 
her conversion to the hour of her death ! None 
but those who live in the same spirit, can pro- 
perly conceive the degree of intimacy which 
subsisted between her and her God. That the 
reader may be excited to press after the same 
enjoyment, I will here give him a small speci- 
men of the almost uninterrupted language of her 
heart and pen. 

" I was so happy in the night, that I had very 
little sleep, and I awoke with these words, ' The 
temple of an indwelling God !' My soul sunk 
into depths of nothingness, and enjoys closer 
union with him this day, than ever before. 
Every moment I feel such a weight of love, as 
almost overpowers the faculties of nature ! I 
know I could bear no more and live ; but I often 
feel ready to cry, O give me more and let me 
die ! — I long to be freed from the earth ! But 
help me, Lord, to wait resigned, willing to suffer, 
or do for thee. I need not lay this body down 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS, 125 

to feel thy presence ! Thou dwellest in my 
heart, and shalt for ever dwell ! Thou art my 
present heaven ; my soul's eternal all. 

" I went to bed last night so full of the love of 
God, I could not sleep for several hours ; but 
continued in secret intercourse with my Saviour. 
At preaching this morning I was so overcome 
with the love and presence, and exceeding glory 
of my Triune God, that I sunk down unable to 
support it ! I was long before I could stand or 
sneak ! All this day I have been lost in depth of 
love unutterable. At the love feast I was again 
overwhelmed with his immediate presence ! All 
around me is God ! 

i Within his circling arms I lie, 
Beset on every side !' " 

Some time after this she writes, 

"As I came from meeting, I was so over- 
powered by the presence of God, that, had not 
a friend supported me, I could not have walked 
home ! I was lost in the depths of love, and 
admitted, as it were, into the immediate presence 
of my Lord's glory ! Yet I cannot explain it, 
for I saw no manner of similitude ; and was 
humbled into the dust before him ! It is often 
impressed on my mind, the Lord is preparing me 
for some close trial. — My whole soul cries out, 
Thy will be done ! Only let thy grace be suffi- 
cient for me. 

Unsustain'd by thee, I fall ; 
Send the help for which I call ; 
Weaker than a bruised reed, 
Help I every moment need !' 



126 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

" Yes,— but, 

* I all thy power shall prove : — 
Thy nature and thy name is love.' 

" Blessed be God, I feel this day an increase 
of holy nearness to him, and fellowship with 
him. At the prayer meeting, my body was quite 
overcome for half an hour together ! so did my 
Lord unfold his fulness of love to my ravished 
soul. I seemed as in the presence of his glory, 
confounded and overwhelmed with a sense of 
his purity, and his justice, his grace and love ! 
and was constrained to lie at his feet, in speech- 
less adoration, and humblest praise ; while my 
body was covered with a cold sweat, and all 
around thought I was dying! Well mightest 
thou say, O most adorable Jehovah, 'No man 
can see my face and live !' For, when thou dis- 
play est only one faint ray, one glimpse of thy 
glorious presence, this frail tabernacle is ready 
to crumble into dust before thee ! — But, O ! I 
shall one day be capable of beholding thee, face 
to face ! , These eyes shall see thy glory ! and 
gaze for ever in ecstatic bliss ! Now, this cor- 
ruptible clay, cannot support itself under the 
weight of thy love ; but then it shall have put 
on incorruption, and be able to enjoy the full and 
eternal fruition of thy glory. 

« Mr. P. preached from, < The grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and fel- 
lowship of the Holy Ghost, be with you.' Be- 
fore he had spoken ten minutes, I was filled with 
the Triune God, and sunk motionless under an 
exceeding great weight of love ! My outward 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 127 

senses were locked up ; but my spirit seemed 
surrounded with glory inexpressible ! I beheld 
Jesus, and was, as it were, overshadowed, and 
weighed down by the presence and exceeding 
glory of the whole Deity ; I knew not where I 
was, or whether in the body ! But all was un- 
utterable bliss and glory After I came to my- 
self, I continued full of the Divine presence, and 
a weight of love, such as enfeebled my whole 
frame. For many days and nights 1 could eat 
little, and had seldom more than an hour's sleep 
in twenty-four. 

u Afterward, I passed through scenes of close 
trial, (for which the Lord had thus been gra- 
ciously preparing me.) and, for a season, had not 
those peculiar manifestations ; but his grace was 
sufficient, and he brought me through waves, and 
clouds, and storms unhurt ! To him be glory 
for ever and ever." 

As the quotations in the preceding sermon are 
chiefly taken from my companion's later manu- 
scripts, I have transcribed these from what she 
wrote at an earlier period ; which, when com- 
pared together, show, that as she began, so she 
finished her happy course ! And although (as 
she observes) her ecstatic joy was sometimes 
checked by various trials, yet the same ground 
for rejoicing continued : viz. faith, and a pure 
conscience. And, beside the testimony of her own 
papers, I am witness that many times I have seen 
her as happy in God as she could well be, and ex- 
ist below ; so that I have been even afraid it would 
prove too much for the earthen vessel to bear ! 



128 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

She had a singular taste for reading, from her 
youth. In her unawakened state, her delight 
was in the perusal of entertaining novels and 
romances ; and when a well written history fell 
in her way, she thought little of reading three or 
four hundred octavo pages in a day, till she got 
through it ; which she did with this advantage, 
that she generally made the substance of it her 
own. But since her acquaintance with vital re- 
ligion, Rollin's Ancient History was her chief 
favourite ; as she said she found most of God in 
it ; and because it clearly illustrated the prophe- 
cies, and confirmed the truth of revelation. 

But, of late years, (though she still read dif- 
ferent authors at convenient opportunities) the 
Bible was her chief study, and in it she took un- 
common delight. Our usual rule was, to read 
one chapter every morning as a part of family 
worship ; but for some time before the Lord took 
my dearest partner, we agreed to read three : 
one out of the Old Testament in the morning ; 
one out of the Gospel at noon ; and one at night 
out of the Acts or some of the Epistles. And, 
beside these, when unable to attend upon the 
public ministry of the word, she would call the 
servant to read by her, when even sickness and 
pain forbade her doing it herself? And, at in- 
tervals, when her strength would allow it, she 
often made remarks, and drew practical infer- 
ences as they went on. 

In our course of reading to the family one 
morning, about three weeks before the time of 
her delivery, when we came to these words, in 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 129 

Gen. xxxv, 17-20, 1 perceived a silent tear steal- 
ing down her cheek ! The passage referred to 
reads thus : " And it came to pass when she was 
in hard lahour, that the midwife said unto her, 
Fear not : thou shalt have this son also. And 
it came to pass as her soul was departing (for 
she died) that she called his name Ben-oui : but 
his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel 
died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, 
which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar 
upon her grave : that is the pillar of Rachel's 
grave to this day." Some time after this, in my 
absence, she desired the maid to read to her 
again the same chapter, which considerably af- 
fected her. Yet I could not then learn that she 
had the least presentiment of her death, any 
more than what is common to women in similar 
circumstances. But indeed it was a subject 
which neither of us could bear to enter into the 
spirit of! And, therefore, if at any time it was 
impressed upon our minds, we endeavoured to 
put it away. 

When alone, she often read the Bible, kneel- 
ing: on which occasion, we frequently find her 
breaking forth in language of this sort : " Read- 
ing the word of God in private this day was an 
unspeakable blessing. O ! how precious are the 
promises. What a depth in these words : « For 
all the promises of God in him are yea, and in 
him, amen, unto the glory of God.' Yes, my 
soul, they are so to thee ! The Father delights 
to fulfil and the Spirit to seal them on my heart* 
O that dear invaluable truth ! 
9 



ISO M&Ti HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

* Ready art thou to receive ; 
Readier is thy God to give/ 

" The Lord poured his love abundantly info 
my soul while worshipping before him ; and I 
was enabled to renew my covenant, to be wholly 
and for ever his ! O how precious are his ways 
to my soul, suited to my weakness, worthy of a 
God ! I am nothing ! He is alL I momentarily 
live upon his smiles, and dwell under the shadow 
of his wings ; I desire nothing but to please him • 
to grow in inward conformity to his will ; and 
sink deeper into humble love ; to let the light of 
what his grace hath bestowed, shine on all 
around, and to live and die proclaiming, God is 
love:' 

I think myself bound f in justice to her amiable 
character, here to remark, that notwithstanding 
the tenderness of her affection for me, and tho 
great sensibility of her feelings at my leaving 
her, (which I had often done when she was sick r 
and in pain,) yet she never, to my knowledge, 
once attempted to prevent me from going on my 
Lord's errand. No : she knew the importance 
of the message too well to do that. As to her 
own usefulness in the church of God, it will 
best appear when the light of eternity discovers 
it : in Macclesfield, Dublin, Cork, and London, 
her name will be precious to her numerous and 
kind friends, (and especially to the children of 
her faith and prayers,) while memory lasts ! and, 
I believe, numbers of these will bless God in an 
eternal world, that they ever saw her face. Per- 
haps some may be found even in Birmingham, 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS* 131 

where she closed her useful, happy life, to 
whom the name of Mrs. Rogers will long be 
precious ! 

And yet, notwithstanding her extraordinary 
zeal for God, and the salvation of souls, her good 
sense, joined with that Christian modesty, ever 
becoming her sex, taught her as to the manner 
how to proceed in saving souls from death. The 
sphere in which she moved was, to visit the 
sick ; to teach her own sex in private ; and 
to pray, whenever providentially called upon, 
whether in public or private. And to her might 
be applied that Scripture: "Whosoever hath, 
(or uses what he hath,) to him shall be given, 
and he shall have more abundantly." The Di- 
vine unction attending her prayer, added to the 
manner in which she pleaded with God for in- 
stantaneous blessings, was very extraordinary, 
and generally felt by all present. A conviction 
from God, that she ought to use this talent, con- 
strained her even to hold meetings in her neigh- 
bours' houses, for the purpose of praying with 
the distressed in soul, and with as many more as 
chose to attend. 

During our stay in Dublin, she met weekly 
three women's classes, consisting of about thirty 
members each, in all ninety ; to whom she was 
called to speak individually, besides the many 
occasional conversations she had with others 
about the state of their souls. At Cork she met 
two large classes ; mostly new members, to whom 
she had been useful ; and was indeed the chief 
instrument in bringing them into the society ; as 



132 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

was also the case with very many of those she 
met in Dublin. 

In London, although called to the charge of 
Mr. Wesley's family in addition to her own, she 
at once filled the place of housekeeper at the 
City Road, (in which station she acquitted her- 
self with honour, for two years,) and at the same 
time, had the charge of two large classes. Her 
third and last year in London was not less profita- 
ble to her friends ; many of whom followed her 
to Spitalfields, where several new members were 
added to her classes ; and, I believe most of 
those who attended that means of grace with 
her, both in that and other places, found it good 
for their souls. — While speaking to, and praying 
with them, many, very many, have been enabled 
to witness a clear sense of God's forgiving love '? 
and others, at the same time have obtained sal- 
vation from inbred sin. A doctrine this, of which 
she had the clearest views. And to its validity, 
her own conduct bore a constant testimony. 

" Through all her words the soul within, 
The honest artless soul was seen, 

Ingenuous, pure, and free ; 
Candour and love were sweetly join'd 
With easy nobleness of mind, 

And true simplicity." 

And although she clearly perceived the need 
of a gradual work ; daily exhorting believers to 
grow in grace ; yet she saw it her duty to bid 
those who felt the burden of indwelling sin, look 
for the total destruction of it in one moment - r 
ever pressing them to believe for the blessing ; 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 133 

to believe now ; insisting, " If thou canst be- 
lieve, all things are possible to him that believ- 
eth." And the Lord set his seal to the truths 
she enforced. Many through her means were 
instantaneously delivered from the remains of a 
carnal mind, so as to u rejoice evermore, pray 
without ceasing, and in every thing give thanks." 

As great a matter as the attaining this bless- 
ing may appear, it is a yet greater thing to hold 
it fast. And as the following circumstance had 
a most blessed effect on the mind of my dear 
companion, when she was comparatively a babe 
in this grace, greatly tending to establish her 
therein, I will, for the sake of others, transcribe 
the following account, just as she wrote it at 
the time. And but few events did I ever hear 
her mention with greater pleasure than it. 

"Leeds, Aug. 24, 1781. — That dear man of 
God, Mr. Fletcher, came with Miss Bosanquet, 
(now Mrs. Fletcher,) to dine at Mr. Smith's in 
Park-row, and also to meet the select society. — 
After dinner I took an opportunity to beg he 
would explain an expression he once used to 
Miss Loxdale, in a letter, viz. ' That on all who 
are renewed in love, God bestows the gift of 
prophecy. ' — He called for the Bible ; then read, 
and sweetly explained the second chapter of the 
Acts ; observing, To prophesy in the sense he 
meant, was to magnify God with the new heart 
of love, and the new tongue of praise, as they 
did, who on the day of pentecost were rilled with 
the Holy Ghost ! — And he insisted that believers 
are now called to make the same confession ; 



134 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

seeing, we may all prove the same baptismal 
fire ; showing, that the day of pentecost was 
only the opening of the dispensation of the Holy 
Ghost ; the great promise of the Father ! And 
that the latter day glory, which he believed was 
near at hand, should far exceed the first effusion 
of the Spirit. And, therefore, seeing they then 
bore witness to the grace of our Lord, so should 
we ; and, like them, spread the flame of love. 
Then, after singing a hymn, he cried — O to be 
filled with the Holy Ghost ; I want to be filled. 
O my friends, let us wrestle for a more abundant 
outpouring of the Spirit. To me he said, Come, 
my sister, will you covenant with me this day, 
to pray for the fulness of the Spirit ? Will you 
be a witness for Jesus ? I answered, with flow- 
ing tears, ' In the strength of Jesus, I will.' He 
cried, Glory, glory, glory be to God ; Lord, 
strengthen thy handmaid to keep this covenant, 
even unto death. He then said, My dear breth- 
ren and sisters, God is here ; I feel him in this 
piece : but I would hide my face in the dust, 
because I have been ashamed to declare what 
he hath done for me. For many years I have 
grieved his Spirit ; but I am deeply humbled : 
and he has again restored my soul. Last 
Wednesday evening he spoke to me by these 
words, < Reckon yourselves therefore to be dead 
indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, through 
Jesus Christ our Lord.' I obeyed the voice of 
God ; I now obey it, and I tell you all, to the 
praise of his love, ' I am free from sin !' Yes, I 
rejoice to declare it, and to bear witness to the 



MR*. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 135 

^fiory of his grace, that I am dead unto sin, and 
alive unto God, through Jesus Christ, who is my 
Lord and King. I received this hlessing four or 
live times before ; but I lost it by not observing 
the order of God ; who has told us, ' With the 
heart man belie veth unto righteousness, and with 
me mouth confession is made unto salvation.' 
But the enemy offered his bait under various 
colours to keep me from a public declaration of 
what my Lord had wrought. 

" When I first received this grace., Satan bid 
me wait a while, till I saw more of the fruits : I 
resolved to do so, but I soon began to doubt of 
the witness, which, before, I had felt in my 
heart ; and was in a little time sensible I had 
lost both. — A second time, after receiving this 
salvation, (with shame I confess it,) I was kept 
from being a witness for my Lord, by the sug- 
gestion, ' Thou art a public character ; the eyes 
of all are upon thee : and if, as before, by an\ 
means thou lose the blessing, it will be a dis- 
honour to the doctrine of heart holiness,' &c. 
I held my peace, and again forfeited the gift of 
God ! At another time I was prevailed upon to 
hide it by reasoning, How few, even of the 
children of God, will receive this testimony ; 
many of them supposing every transgression of 
the Adamic law is sin : and therefore, if I pro- 
fess myself to be free from sin, all these will 
give my profession the lie : because I am not 
free, in their sense : I am not free from ignor- 
ance, mistakes, and various infirmities : I will, 
therefore, enjoy what God has wrought in me, 



136 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

but I will not say, I am perfect in love. — Alas ! 
I soon found again, 6 He that hideth his Lord's 
talent, and improveth it not, from that unprofitable 
servant shall be taken away even that he hath.* 

" Now, my brethren, you see my folly ! I have 
confessed it in your presence, and now I resolve, 
before you all, to confess my master ; I will 
confess him to all the world : and I declare unto 
3'ou, in the presence of God, the holy Trinity , I 
am now c dead indeed unto sin.' I do not say, 
< I am crucified with Christ ;' because some of 
our well meaning brethren say, By this can only 
be meant a gradual dying : but I profess unto 
you, I am dead unto sin, and alive unto God ! 
And remember all this is 6 through Jesus Christ 
our Lord.' He is my Prophet, Priest, and King: 
my indwelling holiness : my all in all. I wait 
for the fulfilment of that prayer, ' That they all 
may be one : as thou, Father, art in me, and I 
in thee, that they also may be one in us ; and 
that they be one, even as we are one.' O for 
that pure baptismal flame ! O for the fulness of 
the dispensation of the Holy Ghost : pray ; pray 
— pray for this : this shall make us all of one 
heart and of one soul : pray for gifts : for the 
gift of utterance ; and confess your royal Mas- 
ter. A man without gifts is like the king in 
disguise : he appears as a subject only. — You 
are kings and priests unto God. Put on, there- 
fore, your robes, and wear on your garments, 
' Holiness to the Lord.' 

" A few days after this, I heard Mr. Fletcher 
preach from the same subject, which greatly en- 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 137 

couraged and strengthened me. Inviting all who 
felt their need of full redemption, to believe now 
ibr this great salvation, he observed, 'As when 
you reckon with your creditor, or wiih your 
host ; and, as when you have paid all, you 
reckon } r ourselves free, so now reckon with 
God. Jesus hath paid all : and he hath paid 
for thee ; hath purchased thy pardon and holi- 
ness. Therefore, it is now God's command, 
* Reckon thyself dead unto sin ;' and thou art 
alive unto God from this hour ! O begin, begin 
to reckon now : fear not, believe, believe, be- 
lieve ; and continue to believe every moment ; 
so shalt thou continue free ; for it is retained as 
it is received, by faith alone. And, whosoever 
thou art that perseveringly believest, it will be as 
a fire in thy bosom and constrain thee to confess 
with thy mouth the Lord and King Jesus ; and 
in spreading the sacred flame of love, thou shalt 
still be saved to the uttermost. 

" He also dwelt largely on those words, 
' Where sin abounded, grace did much more 
abound.' He asked, how did sin abound ? Had 
it not overspread your whole soul? Were not 
all your passions, tempers, propensities, and 
affections, inordinate and evil? Did not pride, 
anger, self-will, and unbelief, all reign in you ? 
And when the Spirit of God strove with you, 
did you not repel all his convictions, and put 
him far from you? Well, my brethren, 'Ye 
were then the servants of sin, and were free 
from righteousness ; but now being made free 
from sin, ye become servants to God ; and holi- 



1,38 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

ness shall overspread your whole soul ; so that 
all your tempers and passions shall be hence- 
forth regulated and governed by Him who now 
sitteth upon the throne of your heart, making all 
things new. They shall therefore all be holy. 
— And as you once resisted the Holy Spirit, so 
now you shall have power as easily to resist all 
the subtle frauds or fierce attacks of Satan : yea, 
his suggestions to evil shall be like a ball thrown 
against a wall of brass. It shall rebound back 
again ; and you shall know what that meaneth, 
' The prince of this world cometh, and hath 
nothing in me.' 

" He then, with lifted hands cried, ; Who will 
thus be saved? Who will believe the report? 
You are only in an improper sense called be- 
lievers, who reject this! Who is a believer? 
One that believes a few things which his God 
has spoken? Nay, but one that believes all that 
ever proceeded even out of his mouth. Here, 
then, is the word of the Lord : ' As sin abounded, 
grace shall much more abound !' As no good 
thing was in you by nature, so now no evil thing 
shall remain. Do you believe this ? or are you 
a half believer only ? Come, Jesus is offered to 
thee as a perfect Saviour ; take him, and he 
will make thee a perfect saint. O ! ye half 
believers, will ye still plead for the murderers 
of your Lord ? Which of these will you hide 
as a serpent in your bosom? Shall it be anger, 
pride, self-will or accursed unbelief? O be no 
longer befooled : bring these enemies to thy 
Lord, and let him slay them. 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 139 

" Some days after this, being in Mr. Fletcher's 
company, he took me by my hand, and said, 
' Glory be to God, for you, my sister, siill bear 
a noble testimony for your Lord. Do you repent 
your confession of his salvation!' I answered, 
6 Blessed be God, I do not.' At going away, he 
again took me by the hand, saying, with eyes and 
heart lifted up, 'Bless her, Heavenly Power!' 
It seemed as if an instant answer was given, and 
a beam of glory let down ! I was filled with deep 
humility and love ; yea, my whole soul over- 
flowed with unutterable sweetness." 

As my beloved companion enjoyed that purity 
of heart mentioned by our Lord in Matt, v, 8, 
so did she see God in all things ! She greatly 
delighted in secret retirement and private inter- 
course with him. She had strong confidence in 
a particular providence presiding over all that 
respected her : and as she believed that " the 
very hairs of our head are numbered, and that 
a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without our 
heavenly Father," so was she led to ask of God 
various things which many professors of religion 
seldom think of praying for. And it is remark- 
able how many are the instances which she has 
recorded as direct answers to her prayers. I 
will here transcribe two or three. 

" June 29, 1782. — This day the Lord instant- 
aneously removed a rapid mortification in my 
dear mother's leg, in answer to prayer. The 
doctor having given his opinion that in a few 
hours it would be fatal, I flew to my Almighty 
refuge, and felt I had power with God, through 



140 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

faith in that promise : ' The prayer of faith shall 
save the sick.' And, when in half an hour I 
looked again at the wound, all the bad symptoms 
were gone ; and the same doctor, standing as- 
tonished, said, no danger now appeared. I could 
not forbear weeping aloud for joy and gratitude, 
praising the God of my life." 

" Nov. 29, 1785. — A lady of genteel appear- 
ance, whom I had not seen before, requested to 
speak with me. I found she had come secretly 
to hear preaching for some months, and was 
under deep awakenings. Her husband is a man 
of fortune, but a professed infidel ; believes in 
neither God, devil, heaven, nor hell ; mocks at 
the Scriptures, especially the New Testament ; 
and will neither attend any place of public wor- 
ship himself, nor suffer her to do so. And what 
added to her affliction, his bad state of health de- 
termined him to go to live in France. She cried, 
' What will become of me there ? No means 
of grace : no friend to fly to : in a country of 
idolaters abroad, and infidels at home ; my sinful 
heart, and the temptations of Satan to struggle 
with ; I shall lose all my good desires, and my 
poor soul will be ruined !' 

" I asked, Is there no way to prevent this ? 
She answered, No. I said, But the Lord can 
prevent it ; and if not for his glory, he will. 
6 Ha !' said she, * I fear nothing can prevent it ; 
the carriage is preparing, and the time is fixed.' 
I replied, f Only put the whole into the Lord's 
hand, and you are safe. Trust in God, and make 
it a matter of prayer ; and if the journey be not 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 14] 

for your good, though it come to the last hour 
he will prevent it. Nay, if you should even set 
out, he can, by a thousand means, turn you back, 
and he will. Did he not suffer the three He- 
brew children to be cast into the furnace ? Yet 
the fire had no power to consume. Daniel was 
cast into the den ; but the God you are called 
to trust, shut the lions' jaws. St. John was put 
into the cauldron of boiling oil ; yet he received 
no harm. This God, who is the same yester- 
day, to-day, and for ever, will prevent this jour- 
ney if you trust in him ; or he will make it a 
blessing to your soul. I then went to prayer, 
and at parting bid her pray much for her hus- 
band, and believe all things are possible with 
God. 

" Some time after she called on me, and told 
me she had taken my advice and prayed for her 
husband, who a few nights ago, had a remarka- 
ble dream, which much affected and astonished 
him. He thought he was giving orders to his 
coach-maker about his new carriage, and more 
especially about one of the wheels ; when the 
man turned about and said, in a very solemn 
manner, * Sir, you need hot trouble yourself 
about that wheel, for the Lord Jesus Christ has 
the whole management of it.' He was filled 
with surprise, and awoke. I again commended 
her to God in prayer, and she returned home not 

I a little com for ted * 

A few days afterward, a note was sent to 
request public thanks to Almighty God for his 

! power and love manifested in behalf of a person 



142 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

whose name is unknown. The messenger, call- 
ing on me at the same time, said, * Thank God, 
this journey is prevented at last !' I asked, But 
how was this brought to pass ? She said, ' Only 
two days ago, all was fixed for the journey ; 
and on this day they were to set off. But the 
Lord afflicted the physician who advised them 

to go. And Mr. , finding himself very 

poorly, called in another doctor, who assured 
him he could not undergo the journey, and that 
France is not a proper place for his constitution, 
and therefore all thoughts of going are at an 
end.' 

" O how my soul was filled with wonder, love, 
and praise ! Who that considers the above, will 
not see omnipotence, love, and faithfulness, ex- 
erted in answer to prayer ? Who would not 
wish for such a friend ? Who would not love, 
serve, and confide in such a God ? Who would 
not own, ' He heareth prayer, and to him should 
all flesh come !' And how wonderful is such a 
dream of the Lord Jesus Christ by a man of 
such principles ! Surely it was all of God, and 
to him alone is due all the glory." 

" March 5, 1790. — In private, I had peculiar 
liberty in praying for my dear husband, that he 
might experience all the depth of Jesus' love 
more abundantly than ever, and be the happy 
means of leading me also into further degrees 
of inward salvation ; that our union might ever 
tend to a yet closer union with our God, and all 
our outward mercies lead to this. While I 
prayed, I felt assured my Lord was well pleased, 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 143 

and would send an answer to my largest desires. 
Next morning Mr. Rogers awoke very happy, 
having had a precious view of the deep things 
of God : he dreamed that he felt the clear wit- 
ness of sanctification, and his soul seemed full 
of gratitude and love. In taking a ride out to- 
gether, and laying open our whole hearts to each 
other, as we frequently did, I found my soul un- 
speakably bnppy ; while we resolved to be more 
spiritual, more devoted to God, and more zealous 
in saving souls, than ever. This was made a 
great blessing to me ; and doubly so, as I be- 
lieve it an answer to my prayer." 

The last instance I shall cite, took place only 
a little before her death. " June 10, 1794.— I 
had a peculiar season in wrestling prayer with 
rny God this night, on account of my dear little 
Mary. The great weakness of her limbs for 
three months past, and her seeming total inability 
to walk, has caused much pain to my dear hus- 
band as well as myself. It appears to me I had 
used every possible means in vain. But this 
night I had power to cry unto my God, and tell 
him, * Thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and 
for ever : thou art my God.' Thou hast said, 
1 Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will 
hear thee.' Thou hast healed cripples, made 
the lame to walk, yea, raised even the dead, in 
answer to praying faith ! Lord, hear me now : 
stoop to my request : let the child's feet and ankle 
bones receive strength ; give power to walk, and 
let me soon know thou hast heard my prayer : 
and I had power to believe it should be done ; 



144 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

and my soul was filled with the Divine presence. 
Thursday, the 12th.— I already see an answer 
to my prayer in the child. She is greatly 
strengthened in her limbs. How good, how 
faithful, how condescending is the Lord ! We 
may — I may, like Abraham, like Moses, like 
Elijah, ask and obtain." 

Such were the habits of intimacy, which my 
dear partner enjoyed with her beloved Saviour, 
that even when her outward senses were locked 
up by sleep, he would frequently speak to her 
heart ; and in dreams and visions of the night, 
appeared to strengthen her in times of trial ; 
warn her of danger, or prepare her for trouble be- 
fore it came ! One instance out of many I will 
here mention. It happened about four years 
after our marriage, and was attended with much 
comfort to her mind ever after, when she recur- 
red to it. 

" Having been exercised with an uncommon 
sense of various short comings, and daily in- 
firmities for some days past, I awoke this morn- 
ing, lost, overwhelmed, and swallowed up in 
love, joy, and praise, occasioned by the following 
dream. I thought I was in an elegant house, 
and was desired by one to go into that room, 
(pointing the way,) and I should see the late 
Mrs. Rogers. I wondered, but obeyed : I 
thought I entered the room, which was hung all 
round with clean white linen ; and upon a bed 
I saw the beautiful corpse of my dear departed 
sister and friend ! I looked, and loved the pre- 
cious remains ; when, to my great astonishment, 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 145 

ner eyes opened ! She smiled on me, and raised 
herself up. I exclaimed, in a rapture of joyful 
surprise, Is it possible ! has the Lord permitted 
you to revive, so as to speak to me ? She re- 
plied, with unutterable sweetness, ' All things, 
my dear, are possible with God. He has per- 
mitted it for your comfort.' O ! said I, what 
would I have often given, to converse one hour 
with you, since you were taken ? She said, 
' There was no need, my dear, God has been 
with you.' I answered, Yes, he has ; but Oh ! 
tell me, have I acted my part aright in your 
place ? Does God, in this, approve of me ? She 
smiled again, and said, * He does : and in all 
things he is well pleased ; and he will yet 
strengthen and bless you to the end ! He loves 
you, and he will save you in every time of 
trouble, especially in your approaching trial. 
You have nothing to fear : for you will be happy 
in life, in death, and for ever. You are dear to 
God ; and it is to comfort you he permits me to 
appear and tell you this.' 

" This was but a few weeks before my Hester 
was born. And what I felt was unutterable 
indeed : love unspeakable and ravishing delight 
filled my whole soul ; I was quite overpowered : 
1 thought in my dream she said much more : 
but this is all I can distinctly recollect. And it 
so overcome me with transport, that I awoke : 
but my body was bathed in sweat, and my soul, 
as in the dream, filled with God, with heaven, 
and with unspeakable bliss ; so that I could not 
refrain awaking my dear husband to tell him : 
10 



146 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

and I could sleep no more, but continued praising 
God until the morning. The more I considered 
his condescending goodness herein, the more I 
am lost in love, self-abasement, and speechless 
gratitude." 

This dream was made a great blessing to us 
both ; and it is attended with no small consola- 
tion to me, especially under my present circum. 
stances, to conceive that the inhabitants of heaven 
know well the transactions of earth ! And (to 
waive the almost innumerable and well-authen- 
ticated instances of recent date) that they do so 
is beyond a doubt ; or, how could they be said 
to " rejoice over every sinner that repenteth V 9 
And when Moses and Elijah conversed with our 
Lord, it was on the bitter cup he was to drink in 
Jerusalem ; of consequence, they remembered 
that place, as well as those prophecies which 
were to be fulfilled upon that occasion. And 
if the pious poor retain so lively a sensation in 
the other world, of the favours conferred on 
them in this, as to wait for the arrival of their 
kind benefactors, in order to " receive them into 
everlasting habitations," Luke xvi, 11 : what 
kind offices may we not expect from those who, 
for many years, were our faithful companions in 
the kingdom and patience of Jesus? " Are 
they not all (as well as the angels) ministering 
spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall 
be heirs of salvation ?" And what angel (ex* 
cept the Angel of the Covenant, who took upon 
him our nature, and was touched with the feel, 
ing of our infirmities) is so well qualified for 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 147* 

this office and guardianship as they ? And it is 
even probable a part of their heaven consists in 
the pleasure of attending those who are yet proba- 
tioners in this world of wo ! especially when they 
see us attentive to the will of Him that sent them. 

Hard as it was to part, my dear companion 
would have found it harder still, but for the same 
persuasion which constantly rested with her, as 
appears from her own words, saying, " I feel 
myself very poorly in body, and several symp- 
toms threaten my dissolution. But my soul is 
kept in perfect peace ; I know, £ For me to live 
is Christ, and to die is gain.' It seems as if the 
Lord had been of late preparing me for himself. 
And yet, when I think of leaving the dearest of 
earthly comforts, it is like rending of self from 
self; of nature from nature ; and of flesh from 
the bone ! Nevertheless, when I reflect the 
separation is only for a moment, compared with 
eternity ! and that death itself cannot disunite 
our spirits, it greatly helps me to say, Lord, not 
as I will, but as thou wilt." 

It seems easy to learn from this and other 
touches in the preceding pages, that, be our at- 
tainments in piety what they will, they have not 
the least tendency to dissolve the endearing ties 
of natural affection : on the contrary, that re- 
ligion, by refining, tends to increase, both the 
fervour and constancy of our love. But what 
are all other ties, of which the human heart is* 
capable, compared with that holy and spiritual 
union, ever subsisting between those whom God, 
in every sense, hath made one ? 



148 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

I am conscious, the tenderest of maternal ties 
possessed the heart of my dear companion ; yet 
these, when it came to the point, were dissolved 
with comparative ease ! as were, also, all her 
other friendly attachments — with one only ex- 
ception, of myself. 

" Not even in death, her friendship dies ! 
With grateful pity and surprise 

I ask, how can it be ? 
Loosen'd from all she leaves behind, 

Yet still — she cleaves to me. 

" On me she rests her dying head, 
And catching, grasps a broken reed, 

But will not let me part : 
Till Jesus visits her again, 
By nobler love dissolves the chain, 

And frees her struggling heart." 

God alone can tell you what I felt in that 
dread moment, when her Lord gave the signal 
for dismission, and I was called to return the last 
parting kiss ! For some time I could only 
breathe, as it were, in silent accents, " O ! my 
God, ^let my latter end be like hers : come, O 
come quickly, and prepare me to follow her. It 
is still the language of my bleeding heart, — 

" O let me on her image dwell, 
The soul-transporting spectacle, 

On whom even angels gaze ! 
A pious saint matured for God, 
And shaking off her earthly clod, 

To see his open face. 

" I see the generous friend sincere ! 
Her voice still vibrates in my ear, 
The voice of truth and love \ 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 149 

It calls me to put off my clay, 
And bids me soar with her away 
To fairer worlds above !" 

Well ! thank God, a moment cannot always last ! 

And 

" He who set my partner free, 
Shall quickly send for you and me !" 

Only let us take care that our loins are girt, 
and our lights burning as bright as hers, when 
our Lord cometh, and all shall be well ! All 
who knew my valuable companion, will allow 
that these pages contain but a small part of what 
might be said upon so every way amiable a 
character. But there is a day coming when her 
real value shall be made manifest ! 

The honour of being united to such a woman, 
fills my soul with unfeigned gratitude before 
God ! And although at present I am left to feel 
my loss, I am supported from above in a manner 
that exceeds all description ! The heartfelt pre- 
sence of God, which, from the time he took my 
all of earthly treasure, I have not wanted, for 
one moment, more than compensates for the ab- 
sence of all created good ! if I can suppose her 
absent, who, under God, was the centre of all 
earthly treasure to me ! And now, unto Him 
who had a prior right, I freely resign this all, 
because his right is infinitely superior to mine ! 
In the act of offering a sacrifice so pleasing to 
my God, I feel that our union in him is of eter- 
nal duration ; and that as sure as my beloved 
partner now sleeps in Jesus, even so surely will 
God bring her with him, and present her to me 



160 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

again J " For the Lord Jesus himself shall cfe> 
scend from heaven with a shout, with the voice 
of the archangel, and with the trump of God ; 
and then we shall be caught up together in the 
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air ; and so shall 
we ever be with the Lord." Thus comforted, 
and knowing the tiirie is short, I shall here take 
leave of my beloved wife, leaving her to rest in 
his arms ? where, 

Supremely blessM with perfect peace, 
She loves me now without excess, 

Or passionate alloy ; 
Serene she waits my spirit's flight, 
To range with her the plains of light, 

And climb the mount of joy. 

Reposed in those Elysian seats, 
Where Jonathan his David meets, 

Our souls shall soon embrace : 
The utmost power of friendship prove, 
Commenced on earth, matured above, 

In ecstacies of praise. 

How shall we sing and triumph there, 
Our dangers and escapes compare, 

Our days of flesh and wo: 
How comprehend the plan divine, 
And sweetly in his praises join, 

Through whom we meet below : 

Through whom in paradise we meet, 
Great Author of our joy complete, 

The Jesus we proclaim : 
While nil the saints stand listening round, 
And all the realms of bliss resound 

Salvation to the Lamb. 

The Lamb has brought us through the fire ! 
The Lamb shall raise our raptures higher. 
When all from earth are driven ; 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 151 

Our glorious Head shall cleave the skies, 
And bid his church triumphant rise 
From Paradise to Heaven'. 

James Rogers. 
Birmingham, March 29, 1705. 



A Supplement to the Appendix : consisting of 
Miscellaneous Extracts from the Journals of 
Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers. 

Dublin, Nov. 7, 1786. — This day my soul 
hath felt much of the power of God, and a sweet 
solemnity, which I can but faintly describe. In 
calling to visit a friend who is dangerously ill 
of the pleurisy, I was led to bring her very near 
the time when I shall bid adieu to all beneath 
the sun. I saw it an awful thing to die ; yet 
rejoiced to feel the sting of death entirely gone ; 
and a witness, that if 1 was called like her to 
gasp for another and another breath, and to offer 
up my spirit, it would surely be into the arms 
of Jesus. But how was the importance of im- 
proving my present mercies impressed on my 
mind, — the necessity of now employing every 
talent for God. In a state like hers, I should be 
very unfit to call upon God even for my own 
soul : much less would it be in my power to 
persuade, warn, reprove, or exhort others. My 
God has at present entrusted me with precious 
time and opportunities. O let me improve, and 
not betray my trust, — but only for thy glory live ; 
and to thy glory die. 



152 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS* 

In the evening my dear husband preached 
•with peculiar freedom from " All are yours." 
In the course of his sermon he went through 
" Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, oi 
life, or death," &c, and in the last instance ob- 
served, ",We are immortal till our work is done : 
till then, men and devils combined cannot kill." 
He likewise mentioned that memorable saying of 
King William, who, at the battle of the Boyne, 
when in the most imminent danger, exclaimed, 
(to encourage his men,) " Every bullet hath its 
billet !" Showing our life is in the hand of God 
alone ; when, on a sudden, the congregation was 
all alarmed by a man with a large loaded pistol 
being seized at the door. I was in the gallery, 
and therefore ignorant of what caused the up- 
roar ; and my employment was to quiet the 
women, who were all for rushing down stairs, 
many of them ready to fall into fits. I had no 
fear whatever ; the sermon had been a blessing 
to my soul, and I was kept in perfect peace. 
When I came into the yard, and heard the par- 
ticulars, I found this villain came into the preach- 
ing house, and sat opposite the pulpit for half an 
hour, while Mr. R. was preaching ; then, on 
receiving a watchword from his comrades, went 
out. And our maid, who at the same time 
came into the yard, unperceived in the dark, 
heard them plotting together, and resolving to 
fire the pistol at Mr. Rogers, and make off. 
Another friend, who was nearer than they ima- 
gined, also heard them muttering and cursing 
one of them, bidding him with the pistol, " aim 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 153 

at the cushion." In that moment the door- 
keeper, and two other friends, desired them to 
quit the yard, when this fellow rushed toward 
the door with violence, and attempted to knock 
down brother Ransford with the butt end of his 
large pistol ; but he avoided the blow, and only 
received a slight hurt on the side of his head. 
The ruffian was then seized by a number of our 
friends, and taken to the watch-house. When 
examined, he denied he had any pistol, and 
cursed Mr. Rogers, and all the Methodists, bit- 
terly. He was ordered to Newgate, and there 
confined. The constable came next morning, 
and told us, Sir Roger Smith, justice of the 
peace, had examined the pistol, and found it 
loaded with six leaden balls, which he showed 
me : they were very ragged and sharp ; and a 
large charge of the best gunpowder. 

All these things put together, I w r as now much 
more affected than before ; as it appeared plain 
that a deep laid plot had been concerted, and 
every reason to believe the intention was to have 
shot my dear husband while he was preaching. 
The wonderful prevention filled me with awful 
gratitude and humble praise. While Mr. R. and 
several friends went to Newgate to interrogate 
the ruffian, I spent a precious hour of inter- 
course with my God. And in sweetly commit- 
ting to him the whole affair, I had some liberty 
to intercede for the poor wretch, but more in 
praying for my dear partner : when the Lord 
graciously applied these words, — " Not a hair 
of his head shall perish ; wherefore, in patience 



154 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

possess ye your souls." I blessed him for the 
promise and the precept, and was filled with 
divine consolation. ^ 

The night after this happened, Mr. Peacock 
preached with great liberty, from, " Fear not 
them which kill the body, and after that have no 
more that they can do." His word was a bless- 
ing to me and many ; especially his quoting that 
text : " Touch not mine anointed, and do my 
prophets no harm." Two persons returned 
thanks this evening ; one for pardon, the other 
for being renewed in love ; both of them under 
the sermon last night. Well may Satan rage 
at a work like this, now going forward in this 
city. As several Roman Catholics have been 
lately awakened, and joined to the society ; and 
a very rich man, of great note among the priests, 
had become a constant hearer at our chapel, it 
is conjectured where this horrid plot most likely 
originated. And the more clearly doth this ap- 
pear from the number of friends who visited this 
villain while in prison ; and by whose means 
his escape was effected before he was brought 
to trial. 

Cork, August 20, 1789. — I found that text 
much blessed to me this morning, Isa. xl, 8, 
" Who are those that fly as a cloud, and as 
doves to their windows?" How heavy is the 
dense cloud, — yet hangs in air without any visi- 
ble hand to uphold it ! Such am I ; loaded with 
ten thousand infirmities, various temptations from 
Satan, and calumnies from malicious men, under 
which I must sink ; yea, and that even after my 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 155 

soul has been attracted from the earth by the Sun 
of righteousness ; was it not that I am held up 
like a cloud in the air, by the mighty powe'r of 
God. I also feel as one of those silly, helpless 
doves, and as such, I fly to hide in my Saviour's 
breast !— »There$ my Lord, I would for ever dwell. 

"How blest are they who Still abide, 
Close shelter'd in thy bleeding side." 

We had a good season at family prayer ; after 
which we went upon the water with some 
friends ; and sailing down to Cove, we went on 
board of Mr. Sholdham's new and beautiful 
yacht. This vessel is built, it seems, for plea- 
sure ; and he intends to sail in it round the 
known world. Every thing in it is elegant, 
even to extravagance ; much plate, superb fur- 
niture in the cabin, and a French cook on board. 
But can this make the owner happy ? Alas ! no ; 
it cannot be, unless his soul were first adorned 
with Christ, and made meet for God. In the 
evening, Mr. Rogers preached in Cove, to a 
large company of attentive hearers, from " Ye 
must be born again." The room was also well 
filled the next evening ; and the day after we 
returned home in an open boat. We had a high 
wind, and heavy showers of rain, the whole pas- 
sage; and the tide meeting the wind, when we 
came to Lough Mahon, (a very dangerous 
place,) it was rough indeed. But the Lord 
sweetly prepared me for it. That verse was 
so powerfully impressed on my mind, that I 
could not forbear repeating it :— 



156 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS* 

" O'er the raging billows sailing, 
With my all protecting Guide j 
By thy mercy never failing, 
I shall all the storms outride ! 

Join'd to thee by closest union, 
And to my companion dear ; 
By this happy, sweet communion, 
Thou wilt banish every fear." 

Just then came on a squall of wind, and the 
swell so very high, that all the passengers 
shrieked aloud, and some now cried to God for 
mercy ! Even the boatmen turned pale ; and 
our friends clasped round us in a most affecting 
manner. Yet, though I was sensible of our 
danger, my soul was kept from fear. I recol- 
lected Peter on the waves, and said " Lord, 
what are these when in the hollow of thy hand ? 
I commit my all to thee ! Preserve me from 
fear, and help me to praise thee." My soul 
was indeed filled with his goodness. The boat- 
men, sensible of the danger, turned out of the 
channel into shallow water, and then the swell 
was not so great. But we were still in jeopardy, 
expecting every moment to be stranded in the 
mud ; and if so, all must have perished, as we 
were near a mile from shore. But the Lord 
preserved us from all evil ; and we landed safe 
in Cork before night came on. O may I never 
forget his love to me this day ! How fatal might 
have been the consequences in my present situa- 
tion, had fear been permitted to take place ; in- 
stead of which I was kept composed and happy : 
and returned in better health than when I went. 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 157 

" Praise the Lord, O my soul, and all that is 
within me, bless his holy name." 

Extract of a letter, received January 14, 

1789 :— " The Rev. Mr. E calling to visit 

one of his hearers, saw a young lady in the par- 
lour, who had come for the use of the water on 
account of her health. Observing her unusually 
pensive, Mr. E. took the liberty to inquire the 
reason. She answered, < Sir, I will think no 
more of it, — It was only a dream : and I will 
not be so childish as to be alarmed at a dream ! 
But, sir, (said she,) I will tell you my dream, 
and then I will think of it no more.' She then 
repeated as follows : ' I dreamed I was at the 
ball, where I intended to go to-night. Soon after 
I was in the room I was taken very ill, and they 
gave me a smelling-bottle, and then I was brought 
home into this room ; I was put into that elbow- 
chair, (pointing to it,) and fainted and died ! I 
then thought I was carried to a place where 
there were angels and holy people in abundance, 
singing hymns and praises to God : — That I 
found myself very unhappy there, and desired 
to go from thence. My conductor said, if I did, 
I should never come there again. He then vio- 
lently whirled me, and I fell down, down — 
through blackness, and flames, and sulphur ; the 
dread of which awoke me !' " 

The minister endeavoured, by every possible 
argument, to dissuade the young lady from going 
to the ball that night ; but in vain : she answered, 
" I will go. I will not be so foolish as to mind 
a dream !" She did go. And soon after she 



158 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

came into the ball-room she was taken ill : and 
[as she dreamed] a smelling bottle was given her. 
She was carried home, into the room, and put 
into that very elbow-chair, represented in the 
dream ; — she fainted, — and died ! 

Awful warning ! an awful event ! O that it 
may deeply penetrate the hearts of all who are 
" lovers of pleasures, more than lovers of God." 
She was warned by a dream ; but such are now 
warned by a reality, even her fate ! She is 
gone, gone into a world of spirits, — into eternity. 
But was she unhappy ? Very unhappy in the 
presence of a holy God, and his holy worship- 
pers ! O how does this correspond with that 
solemn declaration from the lips of Truth, 
"Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." 
O how unmeet is one who liveth in these de- 
lusive pleasures on earth, for the spiritual enjoy- 
ment of God in glory ! which is the inheritance 
and the bliss of the saints in light. Reader, ask 
thy own heart ! Couldst thou be more happy 
than she in the eternal employ of those who sur- 
round the throne, and sing the song of Moses 
and the Lamb? Be assured thou couldst not, 
except on earth thou hast learnt their song — 
" Unto him that loved us, and washed us from 
our sins in his own blood, and hath made us 
kings and priests unto God, and his Father ; to 
him be glory and dominion for ever and ever." — 
Thou must be born again. 

What a striking contrast between the young 
person alluded to above, and an intimate friend 
of mine in the city of Cork, who died near 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 159 

about that time. Her name was Mary Mahony. 
When very young, her carnal relations forced 
her to marry a man for whom she had no affec- 
tion. He proved a very wicked and a bad hus- 
band : but the God of wisdom and love, even 
out of this evil, brought forth good. The trials 
she daily endured, led her to seek rest and hap* 
piness in the source of bliss ! Beginning fre- 
quently, though privately, to hear the Methodists, 
her mind was drawn out in strong desires after 
God. But her husband often followed her, and 
dragged her out of the preaching house by the 
hair of her head. After some time, he left her 
entirely, and she saw him no more. She joined 
our society about eight years ago, and soon found 
peace with God, which she never lost : and, 
about three years after, obtained also a clear 
witness that her soul was cleansed from all sin. 
In this salvation she walked irreproveably to the 
day of her death. And though at some seasons 
she was buffeted with various temptations, yet 
she always emerged out of them more fully puri- 
fied. She was called outwardly to follow her 
heavenly Lord in the way of the cross : but she 
joyfully took it up, and bore it with the meek- 
ness of her lamb-like Saviour ! Like him her 
language was, " Not as I will, but as thou wilt." 
Her love to Jesus, and her zeal for the glory 
of God, and for promoting the good of precious 
souls, was very peculiar. This induced Mr. 
Rogers to request her to take the charge of a 
class of young women ; over whom she watched 
faithfully and diligently with tears, fastings, and 



160 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

much prayer. In her last sickness, (thought to 
be a rheumatic fever,) her agony of pain in 
every limb was extreme : but she told me and 
others, " When these hands and feet are tor- 
tured with pain, — yea, such anguish as is almost 
insupportable, — I look to my precious Saviour, 
and see by faith his dear hands and feet pierced, 
and bleeding, and nailed to the accursed tree 
for my sins ! and the view of that mangled body 
and precious head torn with thorns, and that 
precious blood streaming for my soul, sweetens 
all my pain, and makes me willing to bear all 
he pleases to inflict." After she had thus suf- 
fered for nine days, and constantly witnessed to 
all, the goodness of God to her soul, she became 
delirious. But a few hours before her departure, 
the Lord restored her reason. She was, how- 
ever, speechless, till at last, after struggling some 
time as in an agony to say something, she cried 
aloud, Jesus is precious ! Jesus is precious ! 
and sweetly fell asleep on the 10th of February, 
1789, and in the 25th year of her age. 

October 24, 1790.— I heard Mr. Wesley 
preach in Spitalfields chapel with great liberty, 
from Eph. vi, 11, " Put on the whole armour of 
God." I never heard the Christian armour so 
described before. In the course of his sermon 
he introduced an account of a French marshal, 
a very wicked man, but a great warrior, who in 
the blaze of battle lifted up his hand toward 
heaven, and swore by his Maker, he would never 
quit the field while there was an Englishman 
alive in it ! He was harnessed with steel, but 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 161 

while pronouncing the oath, with his arm ex- 
tended, a musket ball entering the joints of the 
harness, shot him in the armpit, and down he 
fell* Mr. Wesley showed, in the beautiful con- 
trast, that the Christian being armed with the 
panoply of God, i. e., his whole armour, no such 
part is left exposed, but the whole soul is covered 
and defended against every fiery dart of our 
common enemy, the devil. 

I awoke very happy this morning, with these 
sweet words— 

" God, the Almighty God, is thine ; 
See him to thy help come down, 
The excellence divine." 

And O, how was I blest while musing on that 
precious scripture, " Now we see through a glass 
darkly. " It was indeed a blessed season to my 
soul ; especially for a few minutes, when I felt 
what I cannot explain* Such a manifestation 
of God as a Spirit, uniting himself to my spirit ; 
such a real enjuyment of God as love, as holi- 
ness, as heaven, that fulness which thought can- 
not fathom ! And all this to me. My all in all * 
united inexplicably to my spirit ; more than fill- 
ing all my powers with his effulgence, so that 1 
w r as wrapt in God. O My Lord, and shall I 
prove for ever this vision, this fruition of thy 
fulness ? I know I shall. Thou hast given my 
soul a taste, and thou wilt give me the abiding 
reality when time is no more. O thou thrice 
holy God of love, my soul is lost ! Wonder and 
love overpower me quite ! I am abased before 
thee, while I feel t)\e sacred blessing mine. 
U 



162 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

Nov. .4, 1792. — My closet was truly a Bethel, 
while my soul was engaged in prayer and holy 
meditation on those deep words, Col. iii, 3, 4, 
"Our life is hid with Christ in God," &c. I 
was led to inquire as follows : But how is my 
life hid ? My animal life being the breath of 
God, he continues or withholds it at his pleasure. 
But who can tell how he animates the clay body? 
or how we continue in that state of animation ? 
When he takes away our breath, we die, and are 
turned again to our dust. How is it that we 
now feel, hear, smell, taste, and see ? How is 
it that we think, judge, fear, love, desire, and 
enjoy ? To say we are made capable of all 
these, is to say nothing. From what arises that 
capability? The soul actuates the body; but 
how ? And who informs and actuates the soul ? 
All is hid with Christ in God. He is the source, 
but we cannot search out his ways. 

Our spiritual life is hid also. By nature we 
are dead. From him we receive the first seed 
of spiritual life, " Not of blood, (from our natural 
parents,) not by the will (or power) of man, but 
of God." And how hid from the wisdom of a 
natural man, are all the workings of divine 
grace ? We are told he cannot know them. 
Nor can a soul possessed of this spiritual life, 
impart what he feels to another ; it is that " new 
name which none knoweth but he that receiveth 
it." What a mystery ; Christ in us ! And what 
a mystery also is that faith which justifies and 
eaves, to a carnal mind ? 

How frequently is this life so hid, that our 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 163 

actions, words, and motives, are mistaken by 
men t And often is the saint condemned through 
this, when approved of God ! But soon will this 
hidden life be revealed in open day, when all 
shall see and admire the unaffected integrity of 
him who was despised and rejected by the wicked ; 
mistaken even by his friends, (and perhaps grieved 
sore through such mistakes,) when his innocence 
shall shine forth as the light, and his just dealing 
as the noon day ; while many shall be amazed 
at his salvation, so far beyond all they looked 
for on earth ! Perhaps a well painted hypocrite 
might be thought more holy than the Israelite 
without guile ! But then the mask is no more ! 
God will own his jewels, and they shall shine in 
his presence for ever. And if sorrow or tears 
could possibly be in heaven, surely those who 
have been (through mistake) cause of grief to 
these on earth, will sorrow then, and love them 
more perhaps on that account. 

Again : much is hid from even the soul pos- 
sessing this life. The humility of the true saint, 
arising from the sense of many infirmities which 
he feels, hides his grace from his own sight, so 
that, at certain times, he is even discouraged ; 
while Satan, the accuser, fails not to magnify 
unto him various short comings. His extreme 
weakness, his failures in judgment, memory, or 
zeal. His ignorance of many things ; or some 
constitutional infirmity, though not yielded to, 
may often beset, and be a burden to his mind. 
These, and such like, may, for a time, damp the 
joy of one whose " life is hid with Christ in 



164 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

God." But when such feel their utter helpless. 
ness, the Sun of righteousness shall break forth ; 
and, by a word — a single look of love, dissipate 
all the gloom, and display his graces and him- 
self, and fill with unknown peace !" But when 
these come to pass through the valley, there they 
shall find Jesus their life indeed, with whom 
they shall then appear in glory ! Yes, yes, he 
will then be revealed to their ravished views, 
when they shall fearless 

" Pass the watery flood, 
Hanging on the arm of God." 

For he will stand in Jordan to see them safe 
through, and landed all in Canaan ; where he 
will display before them his bleeding wounds, 
their only title to eternal bliss ! And Oh ! what 
then shall be revealed to the disembodied saint ! 
Divine amazement and glory ail ! But Oh ! to 
prove the blissful reality mine ! This, this is all ; 
and while my soul exults in the sweet assurance, 
I deeply feel the importance of that question, 
"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" and 
can tell my Lord, as Peter did, " Thou knowest 
all things, thou knowest that I love thee." Yes, 
with all my heart. I have communion with my 
God, as a man with his friend. I feel an intimate 
union with Jesus ; and through him with the Fa- 
ther ; and such overflowing emanations from the 
Holy Ghost, as I have rarely felt before. I think 
a little more would burst the earthen prison, and 
set my longing spirit free. 

I have found it very profitable to read Horse 
Solitarise on the Name and Titles of Christ: 



MRS. I5ESTER ANN ROGERS. 165 

especially that of Jehovah Adonai. His remarks 
are very sweet and spiritual ; only his Calvinism 
I pass over. Yet I can allow and join in all that 
gives glory to Christ, and tends to humble the sin- 
ner ; ascribing also, with him, my whole salva- 
tion to grace unmerited and free. I believe, he 
who hath loved me, died for all ; that they who 
are dead might henceforth live, " not unto them- 
selves, but unto him who died for them and rose 
again." 

Feb. 19, 1794. — Having heard much respect- 
ing public matters, and about an expected inva- 
sion, with all its consequences ; I have been led 
much to secret prayer, and feel I can say to my 
God, "Naked came I into the world, and thou 
hast cared for me, nurtured me in infancy, pre- 
served me in youth, provided for the wants, yea, 
even for the comforts of my riper years , and 
now I am still thine, and I commit myself, my 
dear husband and children, my all unto thee." 
I received for answer, " There shall no evil befall 
thee, neither shall any plague come near thy 
dwelling." The day after I had some subtle 
temptations from the enemy ; but the Lord as- 
sured my heart, he would not suffer me to be 
tempted above what I am able to bear. When- 
ever I approach the Lord in secret, Satan van. 
ishes, and Jesus tells me, " All that I have is 
thine." Yea, he truly leads me into green pas- 
tures, and by the still waters of comfort ! 

" O to grace how great a debtor 
Daily I'm constrain'd to be." 

My mind has been led of late to meditate on 



166 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

the latter day glory : and the Lord's presence 
rested upon me in a peculiar manner, while at- 
tending to those beautiful ideas of Mr. Fletcher 
on the millennium ; especially where he ob- 
serves, " That as now the world is overspread 
with iniquity, so shall it then be with holiness : 
insomuch that a wicked man shall then be as 
great a wonder upon earth, as a father in Christ 
is now! That the curse shall be taken away 
from universal creation, vegetable, animal, and 
elementary : the bodies of men no longer sub- 
ject to pain and weakness. No sorrow in child- 
bearing, no temptation. The lion will then be 
as inoffensive as the lamb ; and the leopard lie 
down with the kid : " For they shall not hurt nor 
destroy in all my holy mountain, (saith our God,) 
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the 
glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." 



THE DYING BED OF A SAINT AND SINNER CON- 
TRASTED. 

Dust we are, and unto dust we shall return. 
A few more rolling years ; a few more months 
or weeks : nay, perhaps, a few more setting 
suns, or fleeting moments, and we are gone. 
Gone, where ? O ! that awful, dreadful, blissful 
thought ! Awful to all, dreadful to the unholy, 
to sinners, and blissful to the saints of God. See 
a man approaching to the verge of eternity ; 
how are all his views changed ! How trifling 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 167 

to such a one appears all below the sun ? How 
important the things of God, and the salvation 
of his never dying soul ? Let us consider one 
ignorant of God through life ; immersed in 
pleasure, lost in pride, careless, secure, sur- 
rounded and beloved by his carnal friends, and 
possessed of a moderate share of wealth ; such 
a one in the bloom of life. Some fatal distem- 
per seizes his brittle frame ; he is racked with 
torturing pain, surrounded by weeping friends, 
whose help is all in vain : the physician gives 
no hope of his recovery ; and he perceives he 
is ere long to launch into a boundless eternity ! 
What are his views in such a state ? Such a 
scene have my eyes beheld, and therefore with 
greater certainty I may describe it. — " Wretched 
man that I am, (methinks I still hear him cry,) 
where are my pleasures now ? What hath pride 
profited me, or what good hath riches, with all 
my vaunting, done me ? — These are passed away 
as a cloud, and now, Oh horror, to think ! 

" Now leaving all I love below, 
To God's tribunal I must go, 
Must hear the Judge pronounce my fate, 
And fix my everlasting state." 

But can I hope to dwell with God ? Ah ! No, it 
cannot be. He is holy, I am vile : he is just, 
and will punish the guilty. He called, and I 
refused : he stretched forth his hand, and I 
would not regard : and now he laugheth at 
my calamity, and shutteth his ear to my cry. 
Then I would not, now I cannot pray : he often 
knocked at the door of my heart, saying, by an 



168 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

inward whisper, Thou art wrong : repent, and 
turn to God. "Seek the Lord while he may 
be found, call upon him while he is near. — 
Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die ? But I would 
none of his counsel, and turned away mine ear 
from his reproof. I refused the yoke of Jesus ; 
despised his ministers, and neglected that salva- 
tion which was long offered to me by their 
means. But now I feel the dire effects ! Me 
miserable : which way shall I flee infinite wrath 
and infinite despair ? Oh eternity ! eternity ! 
eternity ! — Fall, fall ye rocks, and hide my guilty 
head : hide me from Him that sitteth upon the 
throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb ! — But 
Oh ! even this cannot be : I must endure his in. 
dignation : I must suffer the vengeance of eternal 
rire ! My damnation is sealed ! Who can dwell 
with devouring fire ? Who can endure everlast- 
ing burnings? Take warning, *0 my careless 
friends ! A gaping hell awaits me ! My soul is 
going ! Fiends are waiting to receive it ; they 
encircle me round ; Oh horror, and eternity !" 

The person described above, was afterwards 
reprieved for a short season from the jaws of 
death ; but he did not manifest any genuine 
repentance : and, in about six months after, died 
in raging despair. 

Let us next see the child of God ! the heir of 
glory, (pleasing contrast,) how different his pros- 
pect ! He longs to reach his Father's house, 
and kisses the kind rod of his afflicting hand. 
The welcome news that he shall soon be there, 
elevates his soul with rapturous joy : he has a 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 169 

foretaste of those pleasures which are at God's 
right hand for evermore, and the language of his 
heart is, 

Haste, my Beloved, fetch my soul 

Up to thy blest abode ; 
Fly, for my spirit longs to see 

My Saviour and my God. 

Yes, blessed Saviour, and this thou knowest is 
also the language of my heart, while I now bid 
adieu to earth, and all terrestrial scenes. 

Farewell, my dear beloved children, I leave 
you, but your parent's God hath promised to 
care for you. Choose him for your portion, 
and then if we both leave you exposed to the 
waves of a dangerous world, the faithfulness of 
an unchanging Jehovah is engaged to pilot you 
safe into that haven where we shall meet you 
all again, being bound up together in the bundle 
of Life, with the Lord our God. 

Farewell in particular, my ever dear husband: 
How was our friendship ripened almost to the 
maturity of heaven ? How tenderly and closely 
are our hearts still knit together? Nor shall the 
sweet union be dissolved by death ; but being 
one in Christ, we shall be one for ever. Mourn 
not that I go to him first. He saw it best for 
my weakness : my feeble frame might not have 
supported your absence ! A very little while, and 
you will follow me ; and O with what joy shall 
I welcome your arrival on the eternal shore, and 
conduct you to Him whom our souls love ! Till 
then adieu, my dearest companion in heaven's 
road, whom God in the greatest mercy gave to 



170 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS, 

me, I leave thee with the most grateful sensa- 
tions for all the kind tokens of affection which 1 
have ever had from thee. For all thy care, thy 
love, thy prayers, I bless my God and thank 
thee. But I now go to Jesus, who is yet in- 
finitely dearer to me. With him I leave thee, 
nor doubt his care, who hath loved and given 
himself for thee. It is but a short separation ; 
our spirits shall soon reunite, and then never, 
never know separation more ! 

Farewell to all my dear friends : weep not 
for me, but love my God. O make your peace , 
with him, and you shall follow me to glory : he 
is worthy of your hearts, and only he ! O give 
them wholly to him. I have not served my God 
for nought : I have lived a heaven below in Jesus' 
love ; and now eternally shall praise the glories 
of his grace ! And you who know my God, O 
love him more, and never leave him ;' so will he 
be to you what he is now to me. Continue 
" steadfast and immoveable, always abounding in 
the work of the Lord :" for, I can testify to his 
glory, " your labour shall not be in vain." Be 
faithful unto death, and he will give you a crown 
of life ; which 1 am now hastening to receive. 
" The chariots of Israel, and the horsemen 
thereof," 2 Kings, ii, 12, are ail in waiting to 
carry me home ! 

" See the guardian angels nigh, 
Wait to waft my soul on high ! 
See the golden gates display'd, 
See the crown to grace my head ! 
See a flood of sacred light 
Which shall yield no more to night \ 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 171 

Transitory world, farewell, 
Jesus calls with him to dwell !" 

He cries, " Arise, my love, my fair one, and 
come away." Amen, saith my willing, joyful 
soul, " Even so, come, Lord Jesus." My soul 
is on the wing. Burst asunder, ye bonds of 
clay, which hold me from my love : how wel- 
come the stroke that shall break down these 
separating walls, knock off my fetters, throw 
open my prison doors, and set me at liberty. 
This corruptible body, this tottering house of 
clay, which now cannot sustain his weight of 
love, shall soon be made a glorious body incor- 
ruptible. 

" Shall the star-s and sun outshine, 
Shout among the sons of glory ; 
All immortal, all divine !" 

And able then to enjoy the full fruition of my 
God. Yes, I shall soon see him as he is ; not 
through a glass darkly, but face to face. The 
beatific sight 

"Shall fill the heavenly clouds with praise, 
And wide diffuse the golden blaze 
Of everlasting light." 

" Waiting to receive my spirit, 
Lo, my Saviour stands above ; 
Shows the purchase of his merit ; 
Reaches out the crown of love." 

Angels surround my bed to carry me away. 
I come, I come, blest messengers of my God ! 
Haste and convey me to his loved embrace ! My 
faith already beholds the crucified Redeemer; 
methinks I see him smile, while around him 



172 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

stand the heavenly host exulting! O glorious 
train of blood-bought souls ! What an innumera- 
ble company ! And I shall join the choir ; 

" Shall shout by turns the bursting joy j 
And all eternity employ, 

In songs around the throne." 

How delightful the theme ! It hath set my soul 
on fire ; yet I cannot express a thousandth part 
of my ideas, or the prospect that lies before me. 
But I shall prove the unutterable bliss! The 
inheritance is mine ! A foretaste now I feel ! 
Nay, so am I filled with glory and with God, 
that more I could not bear and live ! O may I 
ever feel the sacred flame, and through eternity 
proclaim the depth of Jesus' love ! Amen and 
Amen. Hester Ann Rogers. 



THOUGHTS ON A FUTURE STATE, 

Occasioned by the Death of Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers. 
By a young lady who met in her class. 



Air built and baseless all, are earth's delights, 
And grief intrudes into their noblest heights ; 
To changes subject, and to ills a prey, 
They bud and wither in a winter's day; 
And like the unfriendly plant of sense too quick, 
Bloom at a distance, but when touch'd grow sick : 
What calls on man to look beyond this sphere, 
Since he's immortal, and all is mortal here ! 
If endless life, and lasting summers wait, 
To crown us when we leave this wint'ry state, 
How should each change instruct us to be wise, 
And tell us we are natives of the skies ! 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 173 

But, sure of bliss, (if ought deserves the name,) 
Fair friendship's pleasures must the title claim : 
Her joys are mighty, but they often fail, 
For while in mortal robes, e'en she is frail, 
Ah yes, Celestia ! friendship's tears must flow, 
While memory lasts, or we thy absence know ; 
Full oft we trace the happy moments fled, 
When we to noblest joys by thee were led ; 
And whilst we talk'd of heaven, and learn'd the way, 
Mercy divine let in a beam of day, 
Till faith and hope exulting soared on high, 
And each affection centred in the sky ; 
We long'd to clap th' immortal wing, and praise 
In louder songs the source of boundless grace, 
Where no duTl sense, or intermediate cloud, 
Can ever the Redeemer's presence shroud, 
But love unbounded, and ecstatic joy, 
Burst forth in endless songs without annoy. 

But scenes elapsed I'll leave, while I presume, 
With daring thought to penetrate the gloom 
That hides immortal things from mortal view, 
And humbly thy enraptured flight pursue 
To worlds of bliss, complete fruition's height, 
Perfect existence, and immediate sight. 

O, had we seen thee when the veil withdrew, 
And thy freed spirit from its prison flew ! 
What floods of glory burst upon thy sight, 
What songs melodious rung the ether bright, 
As heavenly spirits led thee through the sky, 
'Midst blazing suns, and rolling w r orlds on high j 
While joyful friends throng'd thick the heavenly way, 
And hail'd thee to the bright abodes of day ; 
Then joining in their songs of triumph high, 
The loud hosannas echo'd through the sky. 

And now what mighty joys thy powers surprise, 
Stretch'd out from mortal to immortal size ; 
Surrounded, fill'd, absorb'd in Godhead's sea, 
And wrapp'd in visions of the Deity, 
Yet not o'erwhelm'd, bewilder'd, or confused, 
Thy nature so with the divine infused, 



174 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

So fitted to thy state, so pure and high, 
That heaven's profounds suit thy capacity. 

Thy glow-worm knowledge here by faith begun, 
In open vision bursts into a sun ; 
Through organs weak no longer dribbled in, 
Nor labours purblind reason scrapes to win : 
But senses large, congenial with the skies, 
'Wake to new life, and into action rise, 
By intuition now, all ear, all sight, 
Perception all, and piercing as the light, 
Thou need'st no medium to convey delight, 
With open face thou view'st the eternal Three, 
In union join'd a glorious Trinity ! 
And at the view increasing raptures flow, 
While proving " 'tis eternal life to know."* 
Thou view'st unveil'd the attributes divine, 
Which in unrivall'd beauty round thee shine, 
Adoring the transcending harmony, 
Which joins them all in man's redemption free. 

Alike by thee his government is surveyed, 
Where'er his all-creative power 's display'd, 
Allow'd his circling providence to trace 
From heaven's first order to the reptile race : 
Here wonders now create sublime delight, 
And holy praise breaks forth at every sight 

Nor less his grace thy searching mind employs, 
Since " angels o'er a penitent rejoice ;"| 
Here they discover mercy's richest store, 
And endless cause to wonder and adore. 
Now thou well know'st the secret works of grace, 
Which first attracted thee to seek his face, 
From hence pursuing all the steps divine, 
Which through thy life in ceaseless mercies shine ; 
The end discovering of each grief and pain, 
Why they were sent, and what the endless gain : 
Alike survey'd in every hidden snare, 
Escap'd by thee through providential care ; 
A thousand blessings now to thee are known, 
O'er which on earth a pierceless veil was thrown. 

* Jobn xvii, 3 1 Luke xv, 10. 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 175 

What funds of pleasure must such views supply, 
And themes for praise throughout eternity! 
Creation's works are open to thy sight, 
From lifeless matter to the seraph bright : 
What wonders in the world of spirits shine, 
Expressive of their origin divine ! 
Here beings high and things inanimate, 
Which still retain their pure primeval state, 
Are understood by thee, whose piercing eye 
Can into being's inmost essence pry ; 
And if revisiting this nether sphere, 
How differently each object must appear! 
Nojonger can the surface bound thy sight, 
But nature's secret springs are brought to light ; 
And God appears diffused throughout the whole, 
The source of life, — creation's living soul. 

Is such thy knowledge of thy glorious Lord ? 
Then sure thy love in measure must accord ; 
Possessing now the end thy soul pursued, 
In near fruition of its perfect good: 
No more (as here) frail nature sinks opprest, 
When with peculiar revelation blest ; 
Then words were lost in love's immense abyss, 
And silence best express'd the unutter'd bliss. 
( What proof that love is heaven's commencement here, 
Since mortal language sinks beneath its sphere. 
Praise aims in vain to set its glories forth, 
And only songs celestial gave it birth :) 
But now at large uncircumscribed and free, 
Thy vast affections feed on Deity ; 
Ecstatic love in holy rapture flows, 
Increasing ever as thy knowledge grows : 
In full enjoyment and immediate sight, 
Of him whose beauties are thy sole delight, 
Thy praise unwearied, must for ever flow, 
And pleasures no embarrassment can know : 
Renew'd by having his continual smile, 
No doubt intruding thy delights to spoil, 
But large returns for ever flow to thee, 
Of mutual love and sweet, complacency. 
And joy (love's first-born offspring) lives to prove, 
And celebrate the jubilee above ; 



176 MRS* HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

Immediate draughts receiving from the throne, 

"While thy loved Saviour makes his joy thy own ; 

Thou sharest in all his glorious victories, 

Exulting o'er its vanquish'd enemies, 

Ascribing endless glories to his name, 

And ever crying, " Worthy is the Lamb 

Who wash'd our robes and conquer'd all our foes, 

And now on us eternal life bestows :" 

And fresh discoveries of unfathom'd love 

Will through eternity thy joys improve. 

Are such the glories of thy perfect state ? 
Then thy employments must alike be great; 
(For spirit is to action ever bent, 
And t, r pid rest is not its element.) 
Art thou engaged in acts to us unknown 
Of solemn worship 'fore the eternal throne, 
Which all thy mighty faculties employ, 
And give full scope to wonder, love> and joy 1 
Or sent to this terrene on errands kind, J 

Perhaps to soothe thy partner's fainting mind, > 
When deep-felt grief's impetuous tempests blow, ) 
Or secret tears from silent anguish flow ? 
Then to administer the cordial sweet, 
And lead his views to yon celestial seat, 
Where kindred souls in sweet enjoyment meet? 
Or dost thou come a guardian angel bright 
O'er the dear objects of thy late delight, 
Averting danger, and instilling truth 
In soft instructions to their tender youth ? 
Or dost thou visit those with kind solace 
Who Were thy pupils in the school of grace ? 
O, have I ever felt thy friendly power 
Conducting me through dark temptation's hour, 
And taken, when Unconscious of thy aid, 
The cup of comfort by thy hand convey'd ? 
Reviving thought! it wipes the tear of wo, 
Since friendship lives more perfect than below. 
Nor less 'tis likely that thy guardian hand 
Supports thy friends along thy shadowy land, 
When life is hov'ring on the short'ning breath, 
And its warm current gently cools in death : 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 177 

Then bearing the triumphant soul away, 

Thou aid'st its anthems in the courts of day, 

And mixing with the brilliant hosts above, 

Recount's! the wonders of redeeming love; 

While list'ning angels hear with sweet surprise ; 

And gusts of allelujahs ring the skies. 

Now fellowship is perfect and complete, 

Where thought communes with thought, and notions meet, 

And swift as lightning distant souls can reach, 

With clear expression far surpassing speech j 

Thus fitted for sublime society, 

With beings of consummate purity, 

Thou hold'st high converse with angelic choirs, 

Cherub, and seraph, and with human sires, 

With all the glorious hosts around the throne, 

Perhaps with beings yet to us unknown, 

Gathcr'd from num'rous worlds remote from ours, 

And forni'd with various faculties and powers ; 

While each the victories of grace declare, 

And countless acts of providential care : 

Then joining in melodious strains of praise, 

To mercy's centre, and the source of grace, 

Each happy soul takes in large draughts of joy, 

And unconccived delights thy powers employ. 

Say, does some spirit (perhaps thy infant son,* 
For sure by thee he's still beloved and known,) 
Direct thy flight along the ethereal way, 
Where suns unnumber'd burn, and comets stray, 
To some new workmanship of power divine, 
Where beings in Adamic glory shine, 
And uncursed nature all harmonious glows, 
And shining fair its Maker's glory shows. 
Here wonders rise on wonders to thy view, 
In objects fair, immaculate and new ; 
And seem with thee in concert sweet to join, 
In one delightful hymn of praise divine. 

Are such as these thy blest employs on high ? 
While God is all in all, and ever nigh ; 
For wide extended space is full of him, 
JNor aught thy ever- waking sight can dim ; 

* Who died in the year 1789, at the age of six weeks. 
12 



178 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

Hence, though engaged at nature's utmost bound, 
Thy heaven— thy '"God, must still thy soul surround. 

But cease my vent'rous thought, too apt to fly 
To things for thy capacity too high : 
Since ear hath never heard, nor eye beheld, 
Th' immortal glories of the upper world, 
And all is bold chimera at the best, 
In darkness form'd, and wrapt in errors, rest ; 
Nor thought can paint, nor language crive them birth, 
And faint descriptions but degrade their worth . 
Hence I'm constraint the subject to dismiss, 
Till made with her a fellow-heir of bliss. 

May 15, 17<*T^ 



AN ELEGY ON THE 

DEATH OF MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

BY A LADY, 

Who enjoyed the privilege of her maternal instructions in 
the w ay to glory. 

Say, shall the muse, in plaintive weeping strains, 

A dear departed pious friend lament ! 
Or join the host on yonder glorious plains, 

To greet, with triumph, the victorious saint ? 

A conquering warrior, who return'd from fight, 

Has gloriously her every foe subdued, 
And now reposes in the plains of light, 

And triumphs in the presence of her God. 

Can we, w r ho sojourn in the vale of life, 

(Who still each anxious, painful trial, know,) 

Desire to lengthen out the mortal strife, 
Of one so fully meet from earth to go ? 

^an we the breathings of her spirit trace 1 , 
Behold th© ftrdour of her panting soul j 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 179 

Her steadfast care to run th' appointed race, 
Her longing to attain the heavenly goal ? 

Her deep communion with the God of love, 
To feel whose presence was her soul's delight ; 

Her life of faith concealed with Christ above, 
Now changed into the beatific sight. 

Say, can we view, and wish to stop her flight, 

Even for a moment to the world recall ? 
O that her glory on our souls may light ! 

On us some portion of her spirit fall ! 

No, surely, here we'll bid our tears farewell, 
And triumph with the saint to glory gone ; 

With her the praise of our Redeemer, tell — 
Above, below, the triumph is but one. 

Ah, no ! 'tis not the dead demands our tears, 
But for ourselves, alas ! our sorrows flow ; 

We joy in her escape from grief and fears, 
To where the tree of life and pleasures grow. 

But by a double tie she claim'd our love, 

And lo, at once, we mourn a friend and guide ! 

Oft has she led our soul to things above, 
And sweetly pointed to the Crucified. 

Deeply experienced, Satan's wiles she knew, 
And bid us of his dang'rous baits beware ; 

Set forth the Saviour's love for ever new, 

Watching our souls with constant tender care. 

Full well she knew the goodness of her Lord, 
And wish'd that all with her his love might feel : 

For this mercy she to all declared 

With humble gratitude and pious zeal. 

To youth, or age, her kind advice she gave, 

Alike by youth or age beloved, revered, 
To all adapted, all their souls to save, 

Some roused by threat'ning, some by comfort cheer'd. 

Yet while she labour'd thus, with pious zeal, 
She ne'er despised the social calls of life, 

But with a conscientious care fulfill'd 
The duties of a parent, child, and wife. 



180 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

Thus while on earth her Master's work she wrought, 
And now her Lord has said, "Enough is done ; 

Thy arms lay down — the fight of faith is fought, 
The prize of everlasting glory's won." 

Thrice happy saint ! No more our tears shall flow, 
No more our selfish hearts thy loss shall mourn ; 

Be this our aim, like thee our God to know, 
That with like joy we may to heaven return. 

And thou, dear partner of her joys and cares, 

What consolation can a friend impart, 
(A child of your united faith and prayers,) 

To ease the sorrows of a wounded heart? 

Short is the time of man's appointed space, 

Soon will this transitory life be gone ; 
Then shall your souls its dearer part embrace, 

And stand with her before yon glorious throne ! 

Even now, by faith, your soul with hers shall join, 
And learn the strains of the seraphic throng > 

Till all renew'd in purity divine, 
You sing in heaven the never ceasing song ! 

Agnes Bulmer. 



SPIRITUAL LETTERS. 



LETTER I. 

("Written in the nineteenth year of her age, to a lady of 
considerable rank and fortune, who, being offended at 
her turning Methodist, required an account of her con* 
duct for so doing.) 

Macclesfield, Nov. 12, 1775. 
Dear and Honoured Madam, — I beg leave 
to ^iturn you my most sincere and humble 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 181 

thanks for your kind letter and advice ; and as 
you are so kind to express a concern on my 
account, I hope you will pardon the liberty, and 
allow me to say what is my opinion and belief, 
and on what alone I can build any hopes of 
heaven and happiness. 

Man, as he came out of the hands of the 
Creator, was perfectly holy and happy. In 
him shone all those amiable and lovely attri- 
butes of the Deity ; goodness, truth, justice, 
mercy, and love. But, by disobeying the Di- 
vine command, he entailed upon himself and 
his whole posterity (for he acted as the parent 
or head of all mankind) the sure wages of sin, 
which is death, — death temporal, spiritual, and 
eternal. The body of man became that day 
mortal ; his soul spiritually dead, and he was 
every moment liable to death eternal. The 
guilt of Adam, and the depravity of soul which 
he contracted by the fall, immediately devolved 
upon his unhappy offspring. And, we are told, 
when he begat a son, it was in his own likeness, 
after his image : so that now man is born in 
sin, and under the wrath of God : and if he die 
in that state, will stand exposed to the sentence 
of eternal death. And what can a lost man do 
in this case ! Atonement for himself, or offering 
meet, he hath none to bring ; and to pardon sin- 
ners without a satisfaction, would not be what is 
commonly called mercy, but it would be giving 
up the essential glories of the Godhead. What 
must be done then ? Why, God of his free grace, 
and unlimited bounty, has provided a ransom, an 



182 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

all-sufficient ransom, even his well beloved Son ! 
He who is the brightness of his Father's glory, 
and the express image of his person, became man 
to die, that man might live. 

All that was necessary to be done to complete 
our salvation, consisted chiefly in these three 
things : — First, a perfect obedience to the Di- 
vine law : — Secondly, an infinitely meritorious 
satisfaction to the law and government of God, 
for the dishonour brought upon them by the sin 
of man : — Thirdly, a restoration of the moral 
image of God to the soul, which image was lost 
by the fall of man. — The first of these was com- 
pleted by the life of our Redeemer, the second 
by his death, and the third is effected by the 
Holy Ghost. This provision (ample provision) 
is made for the. salvation of man, so that God 
can preserve untainted his adorable perfections ; 
or, as St. Paul declares, he can now be just, and 
yet justify and save penitent, believing man. 

That Christ suffered in the place of sinners, is 
expressed by St. Peter in these words, " Who, 
his own self, bare our sins in his own body on 
the tree." Also, Isaiah saith, " Surely he hath 
borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. He 
was wounded for our transgressions, he was 
bruised for our iniquities. All we like sheep 
have gone astray ; we have turned every one to 
his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the 
iniquity of us all. St. Paul saith, " He hath 
made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, 
that we might be made the righteousness of God 
in him." And again, in the third chapter of tho 



MRS. HESTER ANN UootRS. 153 

Romans, he saitli, " There is none righteous, no, 
not one ; there is none that understandeth ; there 
is none that seeketh after God ; they are all gone 
out of the way ; they are together become un- 
profitable ; there is none that doeth good, no not 
one." Therefore, he adds, "By the deeds of 
the law there shall no fiesh be justified in his 
sight. But now the righteousness which is 
without the law is manifest, being witnessed 
by the law and the prophets ; even the right- 
eousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus 
Christ, unto all, and upon all them that believe ; 
for there is no difference, for all have sinned and 
come short of the glory of God. Being justified 
freely by his grace, through the redemption that 
is in Christ Jesus : whom God hath set forth to 
be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to 
declare his righteousness for the remission of 
sins that are past, through the forbearance of 
God : to declare, I say, at this time, his right- 
eousness, that he might be just, and the justifier 
of him which believeth in Jesus." 

With St. Paul, then, I would go on and ask,— 
w Where is boasting then ? It is excluded. By 
what law ? Of works ? Nay : but by the law of 
faith. Therefore, we conclude, that a man is 
justified by faith, without the deeds of the law. 
For, to him that worketh is the reward not 
reckoned of grace, but of debt ; but to him that 
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth 
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteous- 
ness. Even as David also describeth the bless- 
edness of the man unto whom God imputeth 



184 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are 
they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose 
sins are covered. — Blessed is the man unto 
whom the Lord will not impute sin. Abraham 
believed God, and it was imputed to him for 
righteousness : Now it was not written for his 
sake alone that it was imputed to him ; but for 
us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we be- 
lieve on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from 
the dead ; who was delivered for our offences, 
and was raised again for our justification." 
Now, from all these, and many more texts of 
Holy Scripture which might be named, I be- 
lieve, and am sure, that works are not the me- 
ritorious cause of our salvation, yet I believe 
they are absolutely necessary, and will follow 
as the sure and inseparable fruits of a true 
faith. If you will be kind enough to read the 
eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth articles of the 
Church of England, they will farther explain 
my meaning. 

But there is a third thing also necessary to 
our salvation ; which is, that the image of God 
be restored to the soul. Now, this is done in 
regeneration. Our Saviour assures us, " Except 
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom 
of God." And again, " Except ye be converted, 
and become as little children, ye shall not enter 
into the kingdom of heaven." Nor indeed are 
we fit for it, till renewed by the Spirit of God. 
For, were it possible to be admitted there, we 
could not enjoy the pure and spiritual delight 
of the saints above. — Their joy consists in an 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 185 

entire freedom from all sin and corruption ; and 
in serving, adoring, praising the Father of all 
their mercies, the Son of his love, and Spirit of 
holiness. And they are so far from being weary 
of this, that they think eternity too short to utter 
all his praise ! How irksome would he an eter- 
nity spent in this manner, to a person who never 
had his affections spiritualized, and his will 
brought into a conformity to the will of God? 
This is a change which must be wrought in this 
world : for there is no repentance in the grave : 
as death leaves us, judgment will find us. Then, 
" He that is unjust shall be unjust still ; he that 
is filthy shall be filthy still ; he that is righteous 
shall be righteous still ; and he that is holy shall 
be holy still !" The Holy Ghost is the author 
of this conversion or new birth ; for no man 
hath quickened his own soul. It is He that 
must begin, carry on, and complete it. 

" Now, if any man have not the Spirit of 
Christ, he is none of his. And the fruits of this 
Spirit are, ' love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gen- 
tleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance ; 
against such there is no law. — And they that 
are Christ's, have crucified the flesh with its 
affections and lusts. If any man be in Christ 
he is a new creature : old things are passed 
away ; behold, all things are become new.* 
And Jesus Christ is made of God unto us, 
1 wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and re- 
demption ; that according as it is written, he 
that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. — God 
forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of 



186 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is 
crucified unto me, and I unto the world.' " 

This, dear madam, is what I believe, and this, 
I think, is agreeable to the word of God, and to 
the articles and homilies of the Church of Eng- 
land ; and no schism of the Church of Christ. 
Forfeiting your love and friendship is a great 
trial ; but believe me, when I think of seeking 
salvation in any other way, it seems as a sword 
piercing my very heart ! And seeing my 
dear mother so very unhappy on my account, 
gives me more grief than I can express ; and 
the thought of my being detrimental to her in 
worldly things ; and that my conduct should 
make you less her friend, seems strange, and is 
to me very afflicting. But I think these things 
ought not to be urged too far, especially when 
the soul is concerned. 

I am afraid I have tired your patience, so will 
hasten to subscribe myself, honoured madam, 
your most obliged and dutiful daughter, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter II. — To Mr. Robert Roe, when at coL 
lege, about six months after his conversion. 
Macclesfield, Nov. 13, 1776. 
Dear Cousin, — As I find by your brother, 
you have been reasoning with the enemy of your 
soul ; and thereby, in some measure, have dis- 
tressed your own mind ; and as you request me 
to write, I dare not refuse, for I know God can 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 187 

use the weakest instruments to comfort his child- 
ren ; and often does, that we may ascribe all 
glory to him alone. May He who comforteth 
those who are cast down, be your support. 

As to your falling from God, I do not fear it ; 
and I am sure it is your happy privilege con- 
stantly to rejoice in his love, — that love which 
so clearly spake your sins forgiven. Oppose 
that adversary of your soul by faith ; this shield 
(saith an Apostle) " shall quench all the fiery 
darts of the wicked." Be resolute, and determine 
to conquer. Jesus in our nature hath bruised 
the serpent's head ; and your union with your 
living Head will give you power to conquer too. 
Fear not, saith God, for I will help thee. By a 
simple living faith, cleave constantly to Jesus ; 
and though earth and hell combine, they shall 
not be able to overcome or hurt you. Believe 
even against hope ! and when things seem im- 
possible to you, weak and helpless as you are, 
remember they are possible with God. Lay 
open to him your every care : 

" His heart is made of tenderness : 
His bowels melt with love." 

He delighteth not to see his children mourning, 
cast down, and oppressed ; but kindly saith, " I 
will not leave you comfortless, I will come unto 
you :" and again, " I will send you the Spirit 
of Truth, that he may abide with you for ever." 
The privileges of a justified soul are very great ; 
for, " if a child, then an heir, an heir of God," — 
of all his promises. Praise God that you feel 
the necessity of heart holiness, and press after 



IS8 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

it, even after " all the mind which was in Christ 
Jesus." He is already your wisdom and right* 
eousness, and he will become your sanctification. 
O look for it, seek it, expect it ; expect it as you 
are, expect it now. Behold, saith God, I stand 
at the door and knock : open to your Beloved, 
and he will come in and fill your happy soul. 

Be diligent in your studies. It may be a 
cross, but take it up for Christ's sake, and it will 
not hurt your soul. Above all, continue in 
prayer ; — often read the word of God upon your 
knees, and his Spirit will explain it to your heart. 
With respect to your situation, or any temporal 
thing, be not careful ; live the present moment, 
and lay no schemes for to-morrow; you may 
then be in eternity ! — " Instead of busying our 
minds," saith Mr. Wesley, " with dwelling on 
the grievous part of what is past or to come, we 
should remember that the Gospel does not per- 
mit us to dwell on any thing but the presence 
and love of God who fills our souls." However 
you may be tempted, resolve you will not reason, 
except with the Lord, at the throne of grace. 
Seek more union and communion with your God : 
you may attain much of this, even before you 
are sanctified. But Oh ! never rest till all your 
evil nature be destroyed, and every root of bit. 
terness plucked up ; — till you have given your 
God all your loving heart. And remember with 
him, " Now is the accepted time — now is the day 
of salvation." He cannot be more willing or 
more powerful than he is to-day. 

As to myself, I see no end to my Lord's good. 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 189 

ness. I find every day an increase of love, joy, 
peace, and union, close, intimate union with the 
Great Three One. 

" AH my treasure is above, 
All my riches is his love." 

I feel I am very unworthy, yet offering up 
myself and my services on that altar which sane- 
tirieth the gift, my God accepts a worthless 
worm, through his beloved Son. He who is 
higher than the highest, stoops to dwell in my 
happy soul ; and I have communion with him as 
a man with his friend. Sometimes in the night 
he so fills my soul with his glorious presence, 
that I think it will burst its prison, and wing 
away: and then, O then, where should I be ? 
Surrounded with angels, and convoyed by them 
to my God, — my life, my treasure, and my crown ! 
I can even now scarce support the blissful thought. 

what a present heaven of love I feel ! 

" O what are all our sufferings here, 
If, Lord, thou count us meet 
"With that enraptured host V appear, 
And worship at thy feet." 

It cannot be long ere we lay these bodies down : 

" Our conflicts here shall soon be past, 
And you and I ascend at last 
Triumphant with our Head !" 

*■ Rejoice in glorious hope ; Jesus the Judge shall come, 
And take his servants up to their eternal home : 
We soon shall hear the archangel's voice 
The trump of God shall sound, Rejoice !" 

1 remain your sincere friend in Jesus, 

H. A. Roe. 



190 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 



Letter III. — To the Same. 

Macclesfield, Dec. 10, 1776. 
My Dear Cousin, — I am thankful if my let- 
ter was any comfort to your mind ; to God be 
all the glory : I hope you are now enabled to 
rejoice, and are filled with that peace, which 
from believing flows. I hope your heavenly in- 
tercourse is open, and that day by day you open 
still wider the door of your heart, that you may 
more and more be filled with God. 

" Ready are you to receive, 
Readier is your God to give." 

I trust your studies are now made a blessing, 
and that in them you enjoy the presence of Jesus. 
Let not little difficulties discourage us who serve 
so good a Master : : — us who have in view a 
heaven of glory ! Jesus left that heaven — to 
suffer, bleed, and die in our behalf: O ! then, let 
us take up our every cross, and despising the 
shame, manfully suffer with him ! — Love makes 
all things easy : — 

" 'Tis this that makes our cheerful feet 
In swift obedience move ; 
'Tis this shall tune our joyful song 
In those sweet realms above." 

I long to be all dissolved in love ; for " God is 
love ; and he that dwelieth in love, dwelleth in 
God, and God in him." 

I have had many trials and some temptations 
of late : but I am firmly persuaded, that while 
I cleave simply to Jesus, nothing shall be able 
to separate me from his love : no, nor to lessen 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 191 

the divine flame which I feel continually burning 
in my heart. Those precious words, " My grace 
is Sufficient for thee," shall stand firm as the 
pillars of heaven : and when the enemy would 
toll me — in such and such a trial thou wilt be 
entangled and overcome, I tell him, my Lord 
hath promised strength equal to my day, and all 
his darts are instantly repelled. Nor do I only 
conquer : hut after my enemy is put to flight, I 
have more love, more peace, and nearer union 
with my God. O the blessedness of intimate 
fellowship with him! — of possessing that testi- 
mony, that we please him : surely it is a taste 
of heaven : and yet, it is only a drop out of the 
ocean ; as a grain of sand compared with the 
sands on the sea shore ; only the beginning of 
an eternity of glory. O ! for an archangel's 
tongue to magnify our adorable Redeemer's 
name ! We can but lisp his praises here ; but 
we shall join in nobler strains above, to praise 
for evermore the Three in One : — 

" The heavenly principle assures, 
And swells my soul with strong desires 
To grasp the starry crown." 

The Lord is carrying on a glorious work here. 
Our love feast last week was a blessed season of 
the outpouring of his Spirit : every one had 
reason to say, " This is none other than the 
house of God, this is the gate of heaven." Sev- 
eral who came there burdened and heavy laden, 
went away rejoicing ; three found a clear sense 
of pardon, and two others were set at perfect 
liberty from the remains of sin. The preachers 



192 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

all wept abundantly tears of joy, so were they 
filled with God : and indeed I believe there were 
few dry eyes. Mr. Percival says, there is just 
such another pouring out of the Spirit in Bol- 
ton : above thirty joined the society there in ten 
days. I know this will rejoice your heart. O 
let us pray much for a guilty world ! I believe 
this will be a glorious year of the power of God. 
I do not cease to pray for you ; and remain your 
affectionate cousin and friend, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter IV. — To Mrs. Salmon of NanfivicJi. 

Macclesfield, Nov. 15, 1777. 

My Dear Sister, — I received your kind let- 
ter, which filled my soul with praise on your 
account. I rejoice to hear your name is enrolled 
with the despised followers of a crucified Saviour. 
I believe I shall have reason to bless God to all 
eternity that I ever joined the Methodists. O 
may my worthless name never be a dishonour 
to his glorious cause and people. May you and 
I, dear sister, never be separated from them, but 
by death ; and all of us be united to the living 
Vine, and bring forth plenteously the fruits of 
righteousness to his glory and praise, " who 
hath called us out of darkness into his marvel- 
lous light." 

With divine assistance, I shall not cease to 
cry unto God for Mr. Salmon, and the little flock 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 19^ 

committed to his care. May they he such as 
shall he eternally saved, and their number be in- 
creased daily. May holiness unto the Lord be 
the motto of every heart, and his praise dwell 
on every tongue. It becometh well the just to 
be thankful ; for who is a God like unto our 
God ? O how great are his mercies ! how in- 
numerable his benefits ! We may exclaim with 
David, "They are more in number than the 
hairs of our head ;" or with a later poet, 

" His nature and his name is love." 

O let our souls praise the Lord, and all that is* 
within us magnify his glorious name. Once we 
were darkness, but now we are light; once we 
were the slaves of sin and Satan, but now we 
are sei free, in the glorious liberty of the children 
of God, and our lot is among the saints. Once 
we were in our sins, and under condemnation ; 
now we are the children of God, and heirs of 
everlasting life : once we were enemies to the 
eternal God, by wicked works and tempers ; now 
we are reconciled through the blood of his Son, 
and he is become our Father and our friend. 
Such grace, such love as this, demands our 
praises. Others may boast of riches and estates, 
their high birth and parentage ; but we will joy 
in the Lord, and glory in the Rock of our sal- 
vation f We are plucked as brands from the 
burning, and we will praise our great Deliverer. 
Jesus is our Redeemer and our Saviour, our be- 
loved and our friend ; and we will give him ou£ 
hearts, our lives, our all. 
13 



194 MRS. HESTER ANN R0GERSV 

The poor unthinking multitude " see no form 
nor comeliness in him, neither any beauty that 
they should desire him," but we know and prove, 
that " he is the chief among ten thousand, and 
altogether lovely." He is the friend that stick- 
eth closer than a brother ; that sympathizes in 
our infirmities, and beareth our sorrows. He 
eareth for our necessities, and supplieth our 
wants. He strengthened our feeble hands, and 
feedeth our hungry fainting souls with the manna 
of his love : in him is all we want, and he is all 
our own : yea, and he will be our satisfying por- 
tion for ever. " Happy are the people that are 
in such a case ; yea, blessed are the people that 
have the Lord for their God." 

My health has been very indifferent for some 
time : but, blessed be God, pain is sweet, and life 
or death is gain : I desire nothing but to do and 
suffer the will of my heavenly Father, and k> 
increase in all the height of holiness, in all the 
depth of humble love. I do lie at the feet of 
Jesus, and find his love for ever new. Lord, 
what am I, that thou shouldest thus regard me! 

" He calls a worm his friend ! 
He calls himself my God ! 
And he shall save me to the end 
Through Jesus' blood." 

I hope my dear sister proves as sweetly as I 
do, the great privilege of approaching a God of 
love in secret prayer. These are precious sea- 
sons to me : here we may disburden all our cares 
and fears to him, who can and will save to the 
uttermost : by this we may renew our covenant 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 195 

with the Great Three One, day by day, and re- 
ceive from him fresh strength ; and in this meana 
may delightfully converse with our Beloved, — 
lay open to him our hearts, and praise him who 
knows every secret there. And how does he 
melt the soul with his overwhelming grace, that 
thus seeketh him ! They are such ravishing 
moments with me, that often I know not whether 
I am on earth or in heaven : — Surely it is a taste 
of heavenly bliss ! I do not forget my dear sister 
and friend, when I thus approach the gracious 
throne. O pray for me. Dear Mrs. Salmon, 
yours in divine bonds, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter V. — Written at a time when she was 
supposed to be near death, and addressed to a 
lady of her acquaintance. 

Macclesfield, Jan. 9, 1778. 
Farewell, my friend ! To the care of that 
God of truth and love, who hath been so gracious 
unto me, I commend you. May you prove all 
the riches of his grace in life, and lay down this 
earthly tabernacle with the same joy and as- 
surance of hope as I now do. " I have fought 
the good fight, I have finished my course, I have 
kept the faith ; and henceforth there is laid up 
for me a crown, a never fading crown of right- 
eousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 
shall give me at that day." I joyfully declare, 



196 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

it is by grace alone I am saved : — Jesus is all in 
all, and I am nothing without him. 

I believe you will bear with a friend if she 
leave the following dying cautions : and O may 
the Spirit of holiness write them on your heart : 
— Deny yourself wholly, take up your cross 
daily, and follow Christ fully. Watch, fast, 
pray. Avoid all occasions of temptation reso- 
lutely ; but, if at any time you are overcome, 
delay not to fall at the feet of Christ that mo- 
ment for pardon and strength. The eyes of earth 
and heaven are upon you : many wait for your 
halting ; more, I trust, wish you success in the 
name of the Lord : I am sure I do, and there- 
fore write without reserve. Take care of your 
own understanding : do not suffer yourself to 
think of it, but with deep abasement that you 
have made no better use of it. Do not adorn 
your body now, if you wish to be found adorned 
with Christ in the day of eternity. I sit un- 
der the shadow of my Beloved. While I write, 
I feel him sustaining my soul. O Jesus, great 
is thy goodness, great is thy mercy ! I feel 
my insufficiency to speak of the goodness of 
my God : it is more than I am able to ex- 
press : I enjoy in him all I want ; but am 
daily more sensible how little I am. O how 
his grace is magnified in a poor worm ! You 
also have tasted of his love ; may you follow 
him fully and steadfastly. While you do this, 
though storms should arise, and winds blow, they 
will only settle and fix you more fully on the 
Rock which cannot be moved. Believe simply 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 197 

and constantly, so shall you love steadfastly and 
entirely : then shall the Lord guide you con- 
tinually, and satisfy your soul in drought ; and 
your soul shall be as a watered garden, and as 
springs of water which fail not. 

Farewell, — I was going to say for ever ; but 
ah ! no. I shall see you again : may it be where 
we shall rejoice together, in that joy which can- 
not be taken away from us : then shall we part 
no more, but live for ever in the presence of our 
Jesus. 

There, only there, we shall fulfil his great design, 
And in his praise with all our elder brethren join, 

In hymns and songs which never end, 

Our heavenly, everlasting Friend ! 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter VI.— To Mr. Robert Roe. 

Macclesfield, Feb. 12, 1778. 
Dear Cousin, — Since I wrote you before, I 
have been, to appearance, on the borders of 
eternity. My body was indeed brought very 
low ; but my soul was full of heavenly vigour, 
and longing for immortality. O what heavenly 
transport filled my ravished breast, when I 
thought I had done, for ever done, with all 
below ; and, as I then thought, in a few days, 
or weeks at most, I should leave my cumbrous 
clay, to bask in the beams of uncreated beauty, 
— should stand before the slaughtered Lamb, 
antf *ee the wonders reserved for me : 



198 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

" Should fall at his feet, 

The story repeat, 
And the lover of sinners adore." 

When I should be lost in Father, Son, and Spirit, 
— overwhelmed and implunged in the fathomless 
abyss to all eternity. What I felt cannot be de- 
scribed ; it was a real taste of joys immortal ; it 
was a drop of heaven let down. But, behold ! 
I am yet spared ; Infinite Wisdom protracts my 
stay a little longer, and I bow my soul in resig- 
nation at his feet. I am not my own, but his ; 
and O ! may my language ever be, " Not as I will, 
but as thou wilt." I find I need not drop the body 
to enjoy the presence of my God : he dwells in 
my heart : — in him I live : — he surrounds, sup. 
ports, sustains, me : — wrapped in his being, I 
resound his praise ! O the heartfelt communion 
my soul enjoys with him — the intimate converse, 
the sweet fellowship ! My spirit is filled and yet 
enlarged. It often seems as if mortality could 
bear no more ; and yet my desires are insatia- 
ble. I long to plunge deeper into God. 

I rejoice to find, by your last letter, that you 
are cleaving to your Lord, and happy in his 
precious love. O that every day and hour you 
breathe, you may sink deeper into him ! All, all 
you want is there. Let not your trials be any 
discouragement : nay, " Rejoice and be exceed- 
ing glad, for great is your reward in heaven." 
Remember, every cross is a pledge of your 
crown, and all your sufferings will add to your 
eternal weight of glory. I hope you are all in 
earnest for the precious pearl of perfect love s 



ItfRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 193 

O look up to a present and a faithful God ! Ask, 
and you shall receive ; — all things in him are 
now ready : be not faithless, but believing. Hath 
he said, " I will circumcise thy heart," and will 
he not do it ? Sooner shall heaven and earth 
pass away than his promise fail, if you only em- 
brace it by believing. O claim your privilege — 
the inheritance of the land of promise, the rest 
of holiness purchased for you by blood ! Go up 
and possess it — fear not — come now, just as you 
are — empty, to be filled — filthy, to be cleansed, 

" Sink into the purple flood, 
Rise to all the life of God." 

Be assured t ever remember you at the throne 
of grace, and remain your friend and sister in 
Jesus, EL A, Roe* 



Letter VIL — To the Same* 

Macclesfield, March 10, 1778. 

Dear Cousin, — I bless God that you learn 
wisdom by tho things that you have suffered ; 
and that you feel every temptation from Satan, 
as well as your outward trials, do work together 
for your good. So it shall ever be to all who 
love God, as I am fully persuaded you do. 

I have of late been exercised with various and 
close trials, but not one too many ; for all are 
permitted by my God ! He is my portion, and 
reigneth in my heart alone. I have a happiness, 



200 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

therefore, independent on any creature, or any 
thing below the sun ; God is all, and he is mine ! 

" All my treasure is above, 
All my riches is his love." 

O precious portion, invaluable treasure! 

" Joys that never, never past, 
Through eternity shall last" 

I think believers, in general, do not meditate 
enough on their privileges, and the great things 
God hath done for them, and promised to them ; 
from what they are redeemed, and the fulness 
they are called to possess. Let you and I now 
dwell a little on the blessed theme : let us look 
to the rock from whence we were hewn, that 
we may rejoice the more in what we now are. 
Were we not once going on in the way to eter- 
nal ruin? dead in trespasses and sins, yea, 
slaves to Satan, and led by that grand adversary 
withersoever he would ; yea, sleeping secure on 
the very verge of destruction ? O my friend, if 
God had then cut the thread of life, and sent us 
to reap what our sins deserved, we had now 
been lifting up our eyes in torments ! Rut, stu- 
pendous love 

" When justice bared the sword, 
To cut the fig tree down, 
The mercy of our Lord 
Cried, Let it still alone." 

Yes, he spared our rebel souta — he shed his blood 
to ransom us from death ; — pleads our helpless 
cause before the throne, and mercy to our rescue 
flew. We were awakened by his Spirit to a 
sense of our danger ; and no sooner did we truly 



MRS. HESTER ANN" ROGERS. 201 

seek, but he was found. Yes, we found redemp- 
tion in his blood, the forgiveness of our sins ; 
and, from being the bond slaves of hell, are be- 
come the children of God ; and now all the 
Father hath to give is ours — ours by covenant 
through Jesus. He hath the Holy Ghost lo give 
as an abiding, indwelling Comforter : this bless- 
ing then is ours. All the promises are our own: 
— "They are all yea and amen in Christ Jesus." 
Jesus hath given himself to us, and the Father 
is our God. Was it not the word of our redeem- 
ing Lord, " I and my Father will come and make 
our abode with you." And again, " I will send 
you another Comforter, even the Holy Ghost, 
who shall abide with you for ever : he dwelleth 
with you, and shall be in you." Here then are 
promises of the whole divine Trinity dwelling in 
our hearts ; and are not these promises sealed 
with the blood of the covenant ! But will God, 
the eternal Trinity, dwell in an impure heart? — 
Oh no ! but, by entering, he will cleanse it. 
Every root of bitterness, every remaining sin, 
and all the strong armour of unbelief, will flee 
before him. Can they stand his presence ? No, 
no ; God is love, and where he dwelleth, nothing 
but pure love can dwell. 

t( Thy presence, Lord, I cannot doubt, 
Extirpates inbred sin." 

O glory be to God, what a precious salvation 
is here. And this is the privilege, the happy 
privilege of all who have embraced (he Saviour. 
All he hath promised, all he hath to give, is the 
believer's portion. Faith believes the record 



202 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

true, without staggering at the promise. The 
promise, my dear friend, is for you. Receive 
it, then, and let the humble language of your 
soul be — "Be it unto me, according to thy word." 
O rely on the word of a God that cannot lie, and 
receive him as your sanctification, and as your 
indwelling, abiding Comforter, your King, and 
your God. If you feel the flame that is now 
kindled in my breast, you will : — this will be the 
happy moment. Speak, thou eternal God, and 
let thy servant now be clean. 

I had been led unawares thus to speak, but I 
believe it is by the Spirit of God ; for, while I 
write, I am indeed filled with divine and ravish- 
ing consolations? My soul feels all I have 
spoken. Glory be to God, for I am most un- 
worthy. I have much greater depths of humble 
love to prove, and my soul thirsts after them. 
O pray for me ! Praise, for me, the God I truly 
love, and believe me ever your affectionate sister 
and friend, H. A. Roe. 



Letter VIII. — To the Same. 

Macclesfield, May 15, 1778. 
Dear Cousin, — I am not much surprised that 
you are assaulted with the temptations you men- 
tion in your last; and though I feel for you, I 
have no fears on your account. I know the 
Lord will make your darkness light, your crooked 
paths straight, and your soul shall see the salva- 
tion of God. 



IMRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 203 

It is no marvel that the enemy of souls em- 
ploys his every artifice to destroy your peace. 
And will he not the rather do this just at a cri- 
tical season, when your outward trials are great? 
He sees you pursuing the things, and espousing 
the glorious cause which shall overturn his king- 
dom. Marvel not then at his rage against you. 
It proves to me that you will be an instrument 
in the hands of God, of much good to precious 
souls ; and that this dire enemy foresees it likely 
to be so ; and therefore would retard, though he 
cannot hinder or stop your progress. You say, 
" you cannot believe till these doubts are cleared 
up." Here is another device of Satan. Your 
doubts cannot be removed till you do believe. 
Faith only is able to quench all the fiery darts 
of the wicked one ; — only believe, and you shall 
be saved from all your doubts ; meridian evi- 
dence shall put them all to flight. Cast your 
soul, your fears, your unbelief, your inbred sin, 
your all, at the feet of Christ ; and into the 
fountain of his blood, the depths of his love. Be 
determined : Lord, thou shalt be my teacher, 
wisdom, guide, counsellor — my atonement, my 
king, my portion, 

" Helpless into thy hands I fall ; 
Be thou my God, my all in all." 

Yes, my dear friend, leave Christ to answer 
every temptation that besets you. He hath said, 
« My grace is sufficient for thee." This is 
enough : be not faithless, but believing. 

You ask, if I am not in a delusion respecting 
my experience of perfect love ? Blessed be God, 



204 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

I have not the shadow of doubt. Even Satan 
himself finds these suggestions vain, and has left 
them off. He would rather lead me to doubt, or 
care for to-morrow ; saying, such and such a 
thing is at hand, and will overcome thee. Thou 
wilt fall in some of thy trials ; or, when death 
comes, thou wilt be under a cloud. But, through 
grace divine, I am enabled to discern from whence 
these suggestions come, and they never distress 
me for a moment : for, by constant looking to 
Jesus, I received fresh strength in every time of 
need. I know I am now right, and I trust him 
for all that is to come : and, though all weak- 
ness, ignorance, helplessness, and unworthiness, 
yet I have the testimony of my own conscience, 
and the witness of God's Spirit, that I am wholly 
and unreservedly his — his in body, spirit, soul ; 
nor does any thing but love remain in my heart. 
But, were I in a delusion — O happy delusion ! it 
brings salvation — it brings heaven below ! Nay, 
with what I this moment feel, I could be happy 
in the greatest of outward conflicts and dis- 
tresses, for Christ is in my heart ! I dwell in 
God, and God in me — I dwell in love, and love 
dwelleth in me — God is love, and he is all I 
want. And is it possible we should be ignorant 
whether we feel tempers contrary to love or no ? 
— whether we rejoice always, or are burdened 
and bowed down with sorrow ? — whether we 
have a praying, or a dead, lifeless spirit ? — 
whether we can praise God, and be resigned in 
all trials, or feel murmurings, fretfulness, and 
impatience under them ? Is it not easy to know, 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 205 

if we feel anger at provocations, or whether we 
feel our tempers mild, gentle, peaceable, and 
easy to be entreated, or feel stubbornness, self- 
will, and pride ? — Whether we have slavish fears, 
or are possessed of that perfect love which cast- 
eth out all fear that hath torment ? 

You ask how I obtained this great salvation ? 
I answer, just as I obtained the pardon of my sin 
— by simple faith. No sooner did the pride and 
remaining unbelief of my heart submit to be 
taught, and to receive his precious full salvation, 
as a free gift of his grace, by faith alone, with- 
out any fitness or worthiness, but I was instantly 
filled with such humbling depths of love to God, 
and union with him, with such discoveries of my 
own nothingness, as wholly swallowed up my 
soul in gratitude and praise. I knew the faith- 
fulness of my God, and ventured on the promise 
in spite of reasoning and unbelief, and all the 
lying suggestions of the enemy, and believed 
against hope, or whatever opposed ; when I felt 
my soul sinking into nothing, and Jesus became 
my all. I cried, this is what I wanted : I am 
emptied of self, and filled with God : I am now 
where I ought to be, a worm at Jesus' feet, saved 
by grace. But a thousand suggestions were 
soon darted ; such as, thou wilt soon lose it : 
thou canst not stand ; when thou art tried thou 
wilt fall. I said, Lord, thou alone canst be my 
keeper — see thou to that — I have given myself 
into thy hands, and I will hang upon thee. Thou 
hast promised, " My grace is sufficient for thee." 
O the preciousncss of these words ! I shall praise 



206 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

God in eternity that they are written in his bool^ 
This, and such other promises, have been proof 
for me against every opposition and trial I have 
met with, (which you know are not few :) and 
by thus trusting the promise and the promiser, 
I have conquered : and, glory be to God, through 
his strength I shall still prevail. It is by hang- 
ing on Jesus, as an infant on its mother's breast, 
I retain my peace, and love, and joy : by watch- 
ing, prayer, and praise : by pressing after deeper 
degrees of humble love, communion with God 
and active holiness. Never were the ways of 
God so sweet as now to my soul : I love the 
narrowest path his Spirit and his word point out ; 
and all my delight is to do and suffer his will. 
O may the same God of love fully reveal his 
great salvation in your heart, and be himself your 
rich portion for ever ; prays your affectionate 
cousin and friend, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter IX. — To Miss Bourn, of Newcastle, 
Staffordshire. 

Macclesfield, Aug. 20, 1778. 
My Dear Sister, — I was glad to receive 
yours by Mr. Hall. It always gives me pleasure 
to hear from you. In the bonds of divine love, 
my soul is united to yours : and, from the con- 
tents of your letter, as well as the power I had 
in your behalf with my God, I am assured that 
before long you will be a happy witness that 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 207 

Jesus can and will, and does destroy the last 
remains of sin in his children's hearts in this 
life : yea, in every such heart who does truly 
hunger and thirst after righteousness. You do 
nunger and thirst ; O that you could look to him 
this moment as a precious Saviour ! Is he not 
so ? Do you not feel his loving presence 1 Are 
vou not his ; the purchase of his blood ; the new 
made creature of his love ; born of God, and 
oecome his child ? Is not Jesus your beloved 
and your friend ? Can he then deny his own 
Spirit's cry in your heart : and that too when all 
you ask is, that he will destroy his own enemies 
in your soul, and enable you to love him with all 
your heart ? But, as to that temptation, if you 
receive it now, you will soon lose it : is he not 
able and willing, and faithful to keep, as he is 
to save ? Yes, glory to his holy name, I know 
he is. He is the all-sufficient God, and, saith 
he, u My strength is made perfect in weakness." 
Trust him then, poor, weak, and helpless soul. 
'' But it is not long enough since you were justi- 
fied." Does God tell you so ? Has he set any 
limited time ? None that I know of, except the 
present. He saith, Now, " to-day if you will 
hear my voice." And again, " Now is the day 
of salvation." And again, " Come, for all things 
are now ready." He has commanded, " Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
with all thy mind, with all thy soul, and with all 
thy strength :" and he hath promised, " I will 
circumcise thy heart, that thou mayest do it." 
But does he ever say. Suffer so much, or stay so 



208 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

long, and I will do it ? Nay, but he saith, " If 
any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. 
Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be 
full." 

My dear Miss Bourn, there are some in this 
town who have not been justified so long as you ; 
who have received, and do profess this blessing. 
O then, come once more, even as you came when 
first reconciled to God, and cast your soul simply 
on Jesus ! Would he bleed for us when rebels, 
and will he refuse to avenge us of our inbred 
foe, when we are his beloved children ? Surely 
no ; it cannot be. 1 hope soon to see my dear 
friend, and that she will be able to tell me she 
has obtained this precious salvation. 

Did you ever read Mr. Wesley's sermon on 
the Scripture way of salvation ? You would do 
well to consider the conclusion of it attentively. 
" Hereby," says he, " you may surely know 
whether you are seeking to be sanctified by faith, 
or by works. If by fcorks, you want something 
to be done first, before you are sanctified. You 
think, I must first be, or do thus or thus. Then 
you are seeking it by works unto this day. On 
the other hand, if you seek it by faith, you may 
expect it as you are ; and if as you are, then ex- 
pect it now. Do you believe we are sanctified 
by faith ? Be true then to your principle, and 
look for this blessing just as you are, neither 
better nor worse : as a poor sinner that has no- 
thing to pay, nothing to plead, but Christ died. 
And if you look for it as you are, expect it now : 
stay for nothing : why should you ? Christ is 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 209 

ready, and he is all you want." Let your in- 
most soul cry out, 

* Come in, come in, thou heavenly guest, 
Nor hence again remove ; 
Settle and fix my wavering soul, 
With all thy weight of love." 

Glory be to God, he carries on a glorious work 
among us here. Sinners are convinced, many 
are justified ; and lately, several backsliders are 
restored. One poor soul, that has been long 
wandering from her God, was restored last night, 
while a few of us were at prayer. I am, my 
dear friend, yours in Jesus, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter X. — To the Same. 

Macclesfield, Nov. 15, 1778. 
My Dear Sister, — Your letter caused great 
thanksgiving to God on your account ; all glory 
be to him who hath increased your desires after 
holiness. Fear not, you will surely attain if 
you follow on. That lovely Lamb that bled on 
Calvary, was slain for this — " to redeem us from 
all iniquity." O look to him : behold the glory 
of God ! See the God of angels ; O look at his 
precious bleeding side ; his hands, his head, his 
feet ! Behold him gasping, groaning, dying, that 
you might be made clean ! Hear him cry, " It 
is finished." How finished, if his blood cleanseth 
not from all sin ? — " Without holiness no man 
shall see the Lord." But, glory to his name, 
14 



210 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

whoever steps into that fountain, which is ex- 
pressly said to be for sin and for uncleanness, 
shall be made perfectly whole. O let your faith 
venture in ! wash and be clean : — 

" Sink into the purple flood, 
Rise to all the life of God." 

Open, rny dear sister, open your willing, long* 
ing heart, and the King of glory will come in. 
And then be assured, " all evil before his pre- 
sence shall fly." Sin cannot remain where 
Jesus fully dwells : for he is holiness, and when 
he fills the soul, he leaves no room for any other 
guest. Whenever you can say, Jesus, thou art 
my all, and I love my God the present moment, 
with all my loving heart, you that moment pos, 
sess the blessing of sanctification, and never 
need to lose it more. It is retained, as well as 
received, by simple faith. We can have no 
stock of grace on hand, but live moment by 
moment ; hanging and depending on the adora- 
ble Jesus. In him there is a full supply of all 
we want, or can want. 

This, blessed be God, I prove, and that con- 
tinually. Every hour, every moment, brings me 
fresh delight in God. He is an inexhaustible 
fountain of love : — 

" Insatiate to this spring I fly, 
I drink, and yet am ever dry." 

I cannot express the sweet union I feel with 
my God at this moment. 

" My Jesus to know, and feel his blood flow, 
'Tis life everlasting, 'tis heaven below," 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 211 

I am much blest when I remember my dear 
friend at the throne of grace ; and often do I 
beseech my blessed Lord to 

" Fill her with all the life of love, 
In mystic union join 
Her to thyself, and let her prove 
The fellowship divine." 

Jesus is unspeakably precious while I write : 
may you catch the flame I feel : — 

" And when your cup with love runs o'er, 
O may sin never enter more." 

_ So prays, my dear sister, yours in divine bonds, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter XI. — To Miss R. before she received 
sanctification. 

Macclesfield, Nov. 21, 1778. 

Last Thursday evening I was pleasingly sur- 
prised by a letter from my dear Miss R., who, I 
sometimes feared, had forgot all her purposes 
and promises ; and also all the blessings she so 
often received when we met in our Lord's name. 
I was glad to find my fears groundless ; but much 
more pleased and thankful was I to find, by the 
contents of your last, that your precious soul 
was still labouring up the hill of holiness : go 
on and prosper. Many are the trials we meet 
with in the way : yea, our Lord hath foretold us, 
that in the world we should have tribulation, but 
in him peace, which is the seal of cancelled sin. 

I hope you keep a sense, yea, a clear sense, 



212 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

of pardon at the worst of times. This is youi 
privilege, and I am thankful you discern such 
beauty in holiness. O how sweet are those 
words : — " Without holiness no man shall see 
the Lord." You have cause to praise God for 
the knowledge he has given you of your nature's 
depravity. It is very good and profitable to 
know our sinful tendencies. ! my dear, be 
very watchful against little things, and " keep 
thy heart with all diligence ; for out of it are 
the issues of life and death." Let God have 
your first thoughts ; let him be first in your 
affections ; so shall your words and works please 
him ; for, 

" What are all our works to him, 
Unless they spring from love." 

Daily entreat him to take away all opposition 
that remains in your will, to his providential 
order: so shall you find rest in those circum- 
stances, which otherwise would give you much 
uneasiness. The meditations of your heart lead- 
ing to him ; the affections of your soul cleaving 
to Jesus ; your will sinking into his will ; — here 
is the rest of the saints ! while all that is within 
you calls your Jesus King. — " Whatever ye ask 
in my name," saith our adorable Redeemer, 
" you shall receive." Ask, then, my dear friend, 
for a greater power of faith ; for, as you believe, 
so will you increase in every grace of his Spirit ; 
and your soul will more and more centre in God, 
till you become one spirit with him, who is the 
life of all living ; yea, the very essence of hea- 
ven itself! 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 213 

" To his meritorious passion 
All our happiness we owe ; 
Pardon, uttermost salvation, 

Heaven above, and heaven below : 

Grace and glory 
From that open fountain flow." 

To the bosom of our Almighty Jesus I com- 
mend you : O may his face always shine upon 
you, and his blessed, loving Spirit fill your soul ! 
Pray much, and you shall attain all the salvation 
you desire. I am yours in bonds of divine love, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter XII. — To a Preacher of the Gospel, in 
answer to some inquiries relative to the state 
of her soul. 

Macclesfield, Dec. 6, 1778. 
Dear Sir, — To tell you one thousandth part 
of the preciousness of Jesus, is a task impossible 
to men or angels. To my soul, he is truly the 
altogether lovely : — the one object in which all 
my desires, expectations, and affections centre — 
the Alpha and the Omega. To him my more 
than all I owe, being snatched by his grace, a 
brand from everlasting burnings ! My surety he 
is ; my life, my peace, my treasure, my husband, 
brother, friend — my wisdom, my righteousness, 
my sanctification ; my all in all, for time and for 
eternity. Him, and him alone I desire : him, 
and him alone I love. 



214 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS* 

" I have no sharer of my heart, 
To .rob my Saviour of a part, 
And desecrate the whole : 
His loveliness my soul has prepossess'd, 
And left no room for any other guest." 

Yet, O how is my heart expanded when I see 
I have yet received but, as it were, a drop out 
of the ocean ! but a glimpse of his precious ful- 
ness ; and an eternity of growing bliss lies yet 
before me ! This glorious prospect truly lays mo 
where I would for ever lie, at his dear feet, the 
monument of his mercy. O that I could praise 
him as I would ! but language fails, and I long 
for that day when I shall praise him in nobler 
strains above. Where he to give the summons 
now, and call from earth away, O how gladly 
could I wing my flight this hour ! Loose from 
creature and created good, I only wait the 
joyful word, Come up hither ! — Then would I 
exulting 

" Clap the glad wing, and soar away, 
Ana mingle with the blaze of day." 

In that blessed kingdom, dear sir, I hope to 
meet you, though perhaps on earth we may 
meet no more. In the meantime may you be 
filled with all the communicable fulness of 
Father, Son, and Spirit ; rejoicing herein with 
increasing joy, and made very useful in your 
Lord's vineyard, prays sincerely your real well 
wisher for Christ's sake, 

H. A. Roe, 



MllS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 215 

Letter XIII.— To Mr. Robert Roe. 

Chester, Dec. 19, 1778. 
Dear Cousin, — I am glad to hear by your 
sister, that you are restored to a measure of 
health; and that the Lord, the faithful God, is still 
your support :— may he be so to the end of your 
pilgrimage. Lean every moment on your Be- 
loved, and attend continually to the lessons of 
his love. I trust you have learned many sweet 
and important truths, in your late affliction, and 
are coming out of it as gold purified in the fire. 
You have no cause to fear all the legions of 
your spiritual enemies : — tempt they may, and 
powerfully assault, but cannot harm. I am led 
to believe all the depressions of mind you some- 
times feel, are in a great measure owing to two 
things : First, not being deeply and clearly sen- 
sible what is temptation, and what is sin : and, 
Secondly, accounting the inseparable infirmities 
of the corruptible body to be sin : such as, errors 
in judgment, failures of memor} r , bodily weak- 
ness, or pain ; and at times, through various 
causes, a depression of animal spirits. This 
last mistake may arise from another, viz. look- 
ing upon elevating, transporting joy, as insepar- 
able from true grace. Now, I think you must 
allow, that, as free agents nothing but what our 
will chooses in opposition to the will of God, 
or, as Mr. Wesley expresses it, " nothing but a 
wilful transgression of a known law is sin." 
Granting this, then, and though ten thousand 
sinful objects, or desires, in all the pleasing 



216 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS* 

forms that Satan can invent, may be darted into 
our minds, or displayed before the eyes of our 
imagination, if our will and affections do not 
embrace or choose them, but we resist and hate 
them ; in this case we do not sin, but conquer. 

Secondly ; when through various indisposi- 
tions of the frail, tottering body, we feel a very 
small degree of joy ; nay, perhaps only a degree 
of hope and confidence, and, at the same time, 
the enemy endeavouring to lay the axe of his 
temptations at the root of this ; this, I say, is a 
time to take the advice of God by his prophet, 
" Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that 
obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in 
darkness, and hath no light ? — Let him trust in 
the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." 
This text proves that joy is not inseparable 
from grace. It is not according to our joy, (for 
this is the fruit or effect of faith,) but according 
to our faith he blesses and saves, accepts and 
loves us. Our love to God, his cause, his peo- 
ple, his precepts, all springing from the root of 
faith, are so many acts of the soul, which our 
blessed Lord and Master approves and accepts 
through the Beloved ; and are inseparable evi- 
dences of our sonship. But joys, comforts, and 
communications of the Holy Ghost, are so many 
free gifts bestowed upon us ; because the Lord 
delights in blessing, comforting, and dwelling in 
us, and are so many pledges of his unmerited love. 

Now, if the Lord permit bodily affliction, so 
that the animal spirits cannot receive the com* 
munications; (I mean, cannot receive them 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 217 

without an extraordinary exertion of his power 
and love, which, indeed, we often see manifested 
in the dying hours of those who love God, and 
I myself have often felt in sickness and close 
trials,) ought we not, in such cases, to cast our- 
selves hy faith on him, lean on his bosom, and 
without giving way to reasoning, believe he will 
make every affliction work for good ? Surely 
we ought to trust him at all times — it is our 
privilege. Do not mistake me ; I am not con- 
demning a religion that maybe felt; I would 
only prove to you, that faith is the root of joy, 
and not joy the root of faith ; and that you ought 
not to cast away your shield of faith, because 
you have not, for the present moment, much 
joy. When we are beset with various trials, 
various temptations, and various suggestions ; 
such as, Thou wilt surely fall ; such a tempta- 
tion will prove too hard for thee, &c, " My 
grace is sufficient for thee," saith the Lord ; he 
who knows all your trials. Now, when by faith 
we embrace and rely on this promise, knowing 
he who is faithful will perform his word ; we 
are strengthened by a sweet peace, and well 
grounded confidence and hope, that shall never 
make us ashamed. And, while we continue to 
live by this faith, we more than conquer, whether 
our joy be little or great. This is our shield, 
and God is pleased by afflictions to try and 
prove this faith, that it may burn the brighter 
and be more conspicuous to all. Not that he is 
displeased with us for any thing, nor as a punish- 
ment ; but, whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth. 



218 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

I believe this is often your case ; and he Calls 
upon you by his word, " not to cast away your 
confidence, which hath great recompense of re- 
ward. And yet a little while, and he that shall 
come will come, and will not tarry." 

With respect to sanctification, I mean the in- 
stantaneous work, you have the word of a God-— 
" I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye 
shall be clean ; from all your filthiness, and from 
all your idols, will I cleanse you." Here is a 
full, free promise. Do you seek this salvation 
by faith, or by works ? If by faith, then you 
have no need to tarry for worthiness or fitness, 
but come now, just as you are. You must em- 
brace the promise, believe it, hang upon it, re- 
joice in it as your own, trusting God to perform 
it. Soon as you cast your soul upon him by 
faith, he will seal the blessing on your heart. 
May he reveal these things to you by his Spirit, 
and fill you with all his fulness, pra3^s your af- 
fectionate friend and cousin, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter XIV. — To the Same. 

Nantwich, April 20, 1779, 
Dear Cousin, — You are quite mistaken — » 
you do not try my patience at all ; but you are 
made a means of humbling my soul before God, 
when you think me capable of answering in a 
proper manner the questions you ask : and yet, 
as far as the Lord has taught me, I am willing 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 219 

to communicate. I believe your eye is single : 
you are a child of God, and an heir of glory — 
a well beloved of the eternal Trinity. For you 
the Father gave his only Son : Jesus the Saviour 
bled for you : and the blessed Spirit hath applied 
the blood of sprinkling to the pardon of your 
sins, and the comfort of your soul in all your 
various trials. I account it no strange thing that 
you should be assaulted like your heavenly Mas- 
ter, with that suggestion, " If thou be the Son 
of God ;" — Surely you will not give way to rea- 
soning, because Satan accosts you as he did the 
incarnate God. No : rather take comfort, for 
he that had no sin was tempted in this very 
point, like as you are. A hypocrite may boast 
he is never tempted ; has no doubts or fears ; but 
a child of God (some rare cases excepted) is 
seldom long together unassaulted by our vigilant 
adversary, who takes every possible method and 
opportunity to attack our confidence in the Lord, 
and to work upon all that remains of the carnal 
mind, or of unbelief: but he can only tempt : 
he cannot force us to give way either to sin or 
unbelief. Neither think it strange that you are 
not inwardly as holy as you ought to be : every 
child of God feels the same, till fully renewed in 
love by the power of the Holy Ghost. Till then 
he has faith, but it is often mixed with unbelief: — 
he has love ; but though he loves God above all 
things, yet the love of self, and of creature com- 
forts, often steal in. He has a blessed measure 
of true humility; and yet, he is constrained to 
acknowledge frequently with tears, 



220 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS, 

" Cursed pride, that busy sin, 
Spoils all that I perform." 

His patience and resignation are not perfect : his 
will is not fully subdued to God at all times, nor 
his affections and desires wholly spiritual. The 
Spirit of God does visit, but does not dwell : 
does, at times, ravish the soul with delight, there- 
by wooing it to cast away unbelief, and open 
the door to receive all the precious mind of 
Jesus — all the stamp of love divine. Now when 
a soul is obedient to the voice of God, when it 
does open the door, and grasp the promises of 
holiness in the hand of faith, he will come into 
that soul, and plant his own nature there. Then, 
when perfected in love, faith becomes constant, 
and unmixed with unbelief. Love takes full pos- 
session of the soul, and humility, unmixed wit'h 
pride, lays him at the Saviour's feet. His con- 
stant faith, and perfect love, now bring forth 
perfect patience and resignation. His deep- 
rooted humility having laid all self at the Saviour's 
feet, his will is now quite subject, and all his lan- 
guage is, 

" All 's alike to me, so I 
In my Lord may live and die." 

But even this state is consistent with many ig- 
norances, weaknesses, and infirmities ; — with 
many temptations, trials, crosses, and bodily af- 
flictions ; and, on account of these, our joy may 
at times be small : yet our faith may be perfect, 
and our peace undisturbed. I believe our faith 
is often made manifest by following God Mind- 
fold ; (if I may be allowed the expression ;) I 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 221 

mean, when our ignorance and blindness cannot 
account for his providential dispensations ; when 
we are beset with trials, and see no way to es- 
cape. In this case, faith says, " It is the Lord, 
let him do what seemeth him good." Being 
confident of this one thing, " What I know not 
now, I shall know hereafter ;" I will trust in my 
God, and not be afraid, for he is my all. 

I have not time, room, or expression, to tell a 
thousandth part of the goodness of my God to 
lily soul. He is ever with me, and assures my 
heart, " All that I have is thine." All my de- 
sires are satisfied in him : — I live in him, and 
walk in him, and he is my God. He is with me 
in sickness and in health — at home and abroad — 
in public and in private. In reading or writing 
I feel his presence : and, O ! when I am bowed 
before his throne, he lets down a heaven of com- 
municated bliss ! Language fails when I speak 
of his love ! O may my every breath speak his 
praise ! I remain your unworthy friend, but 
happy sister, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter XV. — To Miss Salmon. 

Malpas, June 16, 1779. 
My Dear Friend, — How shall I praise my 
God for his goodness, his infinite, his stupendous 
love ! O how he heapeth his benefits upon me, 
and maketh every other blessing sweet, by the 
gift of himself ! Would any thing the world calls 



222 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

great or good, be any thing to me without my 
God ! Ah ! no, no : every thing most desirable 
is hateful to my soul, wherein I cannot taste, or 
feel, or see something of my blessed Lord : but, 
all glory be to him, he is my all in all things. 
Help me to love this only lovely, dearest object 
of my wishes. Let him, my dear sister, be our 
Lord and King for ever. Yes, Lord, take our 
hearts : — 

M Manage the wheels by thy command, 
And govern every spring." 

How sweet is the yoke of Jesus ! O how gentle, 
how tender, how compassionate his care ! How 
hath he borne you and I, as weak and helpless 
lambs in his arms, carried us in his bosom, and 
defended us from the fowler's snare ! Eternal 
Lord God, thou indwelling Trinity, whom truly 
our hearts do love, accept the gratitude words 
cannot speak : in silent adoration we adore thee, 
overwhelmed at thy amazing grace ! I cannot 
utter, my dear friend, the sweet feelings of my 
heart, or tell you how divine a union my spirit 
feels with yours. O may you now, and hence- 
forth, prove all that Jesus can bestow ! How 
much is that ? Words cannot tell you ; but yours 
it is, through the merit of his blood ! 

I intended to begin my letter with thanks for 
your love and kindness to me at Chester ; but I 
was led to the precious fountain of all comfort, 
and when I had once begun his mercy's theme, 
I could not break off! I bear, however, a grate- 
ful sense of the affectionate regard you mani 
fested j and though to tell you so is all I can do 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 223 

my Lord will surely reward. My love to dear 
Miss Bennet, and all that family ; and to all 
where you are. I bear them all on my heart 
before God. I love them all ; and if they knew 
how Jesus loves them they would not keep back 
their hearts from him. I got safe to this place, 
and am treated very kindly by this loving family ; 
but O how I feel for those who love not God ! 
My dear Miss B. is as open and free as before. 
My soul cleaves to her, and I have great hopes. 
Pray for her, and for your ever affectionate, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter XVI. — To Miss Loxdale. 

Nantwich, June 30, 1779. 
Dear Sister, — My dear friend's letter was 
indeed a pleasure and a blessing to me ; and my 
Lord's great goodness to you, is a fresh motive 
to love and praise him. But fresh motives of 
this kind are no new things to me : I am ever 
discovering instances of his goodness, that fill 
me with wonder and astonishment, and cause 
me to exclaim, with holy David, " Lord, what is 
man that thou art so mindful of him ?" Great 
things, indeed, my dear sister, hath the Lord 
done for you, and for your unworthy friend : and 
yet, O stupendous grace ! we have only received 
a drop out of the ocean of his love : an endless 
prospect, and a maze of bliss, lie yet before us ! — 
opening beauties, and such lengths, and breadths, 
and depths, and heights, as thought cannot fathom, 



224 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

or mind of man conceive ! It is, my friend, the 
fulness of the Triune God, in which we may 
bathe, and plunge, and sink, till lost and swal- 
lowed up in the ever growing, overflowing ocean 
of delights. His fulness ; O what is it ! — shall 
we ever fathom it ? ever know a ten thousandth 
part ? Ah no ! a ten thousandth part of that ef- 
fulgence we could not bear to know and live! 
Nay, and when disembodied through the revolv- 
ing ages of eternity, I am persuaded we shall only 
seem beginning to know his fulness of love. What 
thoughts are these ! when I enter into them, as 
into a labyrinth, they almost overcome my natural 
powers. O how very little of his revealed glory 
can this earthen vessel contain ! but a time is 
hastening on, (and I eagerly wait for its approach,) 
when, no longer imprisoned in clay, our eyes 
shall be strengthened to see him as he is ; — see 
him for ourselves, and bask for ever in his smiles. 
Yes, we shall be with Jesus and behold his glory. 
He will reveal to us also, as much as we can 
bear of the fulness of the Father's glory ; and 
we shall be with Father, Son, and Spirit, filled 
to all eternity ! But I have been led further 
than I intended : I must return. 

Permit me to ask, my dear friend, what are 
your ideas, what is your opinion, or what your 
experience of inward, instantaneous sanctifica- 
tion ; whereby the root, the in- being of sin is 
destroyed ? I do not mean or allude to a state 
of angelic or Adamic, but a Christian perfection ; 
a destruction of every temper contrary to love ; — 
a state consistent with many temptations of the 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 223 

devil, if our hearts repel those temptations, and 
our will do not embrace or yield to them : for 
that cannot be sin, in which our will has no part. 
Thus it was with Jesus : " In him was no sin, 
yet he was tempted in all points as we are :" 
before his pure eyes did that enemy display all 
the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of 
them : — to his spotless soul he suggested dis- 
turbing doubts, and presumptuous expectations ; 
but in the Son of God they found no place. 
Again ; what I mean is a state consistent with a 
growth in grace ; for Jesus, though always pure, 
" increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour 
with God and man." Is not such a state ex- 
pressed and described in the thirteenth of the first 
book of Corinthians ? and is it not commanded 
in these gracious words, " Rejoice evermore, 
pray without ceasing, and in every thing give 
thanks?" Does the Apostle add, "This is the 
will of God concerning you V And after pray- 
ing, " Now the God of peace sanctify you wholly;" 
does he not pray, that " your whole spirit, soul, 
and body, (after they are so sanctified.) may be 
preserved blameless to the second coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ ?" Then follows the glorious 
promise, " Faithful is he that calleth you, who 
also will do it." And is not the same thing 
promised in the sweet passage you named ; " I 
will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall 
be clean : from all your filthiness, and from all 
your idols, will I cleanse you," &c. And again, 
did he not " swear to our father Abraham, that 
he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered 
15 



2'2G MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS 

out of the hands of our enemies, might serve? 
him without fear, in holiness and righteousness* 
before him all the days of our life." By the 
state I weakly attempt to describe, I mean, that 
degree of humble love which excludes every 
temper contrary thereto; and faith that excludes 
the remains of unbelief, and every tormenting' 
fear ; " for he that feareth is not made perfect 
in love." It is " fellowship with the Father, and 
with his Son Jesus Christ," through the Spirit, 
by whose abiding witness we can say, " Abba, 
Father — my Lord and my God," with an un- 
wavering tongue. 

I know this precious Gospel salvation is even 
derided by some, and exploded by many. Per- 
haps }'ou may have conversed with some of these ; 
and not have met with many who have dared to 
speak for God in this respect. Some of my ex- 
pressions may therefore appear odd or unusual ; 
but, compare them with Scripture, and mention 
with freedom any of them you wish me to ex- 
plain. As I know your situation, you will ex- 
cuse the liberty I take in advising you not to 
meddle with opinions : these insensibly eat out 
of the soul the precious life of God. Dispute 
not with any ; or, if they seek hurtful disputa- 
tions, it is a good way to propose prayer. But 
it may be well, as much as may be, to avoid the 
company of those who love vain controversy. 
Endeavour after a calm, recollected spirit — a 
heartfelt union with a holy God. Sweet truth — 
God is love, and love is the Christian's all. Love 
in us is his nature imparted : it is the fulfilling 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 227 

of the law, perfect law of liberty. Whosoever 
" loveth his brother," hath fulfilled the law to his 
neighbour : and he who " loveth the Lord his 
God with all his heart, and soul, and mind, and 
strength," hath fulfilled the law to him also. To 
such " his commandments are not grievous ;" 
not a task — a wearisome burden, but a delight : 
" They are ways of pleasantness — they are paths 
of peace." And as we are under a law of love 
to God ; so God, our God in Christ, is under a 
covenant of love, in which is made over to us all 
he is and all he lias to give ; his every attribute ; 
his wisdom to guide and teach ; his power to 
protect, and help, and strengthen ; his faithful- 
ness, his truth, his mercy, &c, all sealed over, 
and secured by covenant promises and covenant 
blood. 

O my dear sister, what a blessed portion is 
ours ! Let us determine to prove it all. We 
may, I trust we shall, and together praise in 
endless day, the great Three One. I am ever 
yours in him, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter XVIL — To the Same. 

Macclesfield, Aug. 4, 1775. 

I thank you, my dear sister, for your last, 

and would have written sooner, but a violent 

rheumatic pain in my head prevented me. I 

clearly see in your experience a deepening of 



228 MilS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

the work of God. He is preparing your hear! 
for his perfect love : he is emptying you of self* 
that you may be swallowed up in him : he is 
crucifying you to the world, that you may live 
to him, and for him alone ; he discovers to you 
the beauties of holiness, that your soul and all 
its powers may be captivated thereby, and en- 
larged to ask and receive all his goodness waits 
to give. It is no marvel that Satan shoots his 
fiery darts, and employs his strongest batteries 
to prevent this work of grace : he ever did, and 
he ever will. This precious salvation entirely 
overturns his kingdom in the believer's heart ; 
he hath no more place, no more power : he 
finds no inward evil now (in those thus saved) 
to close in with his temptations. His every dart 
is now repelled ; quick -sighted love discovers all 
his snares, and armed with the strength of Om- 
nipotence, we more than conquer ! 

The temptations you find, are the same I was 
followed with, when the fountains of the great 
deep of inbred corruption were discovered to my 
view : yes, I experienced them all, and ten times 
more. 

Mr. Fletcher's Polemical Essay, especially in 
his address to imperfect believers, seeking Chris- 
tian perfection, was made a great blessing to 
me. This, with Mr. Wesley's Plain Accounts 
answered every objection, every doubt : and I 
earnestly recommend them to your serious pe- 
rusal. These will lead you to see we are sanc- 
tified, as well as justified, by faith alone, and not 
for our merits fitness, or deservings ; but faith 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 229 

lays hold of the blood of Christ, as the procuring 
cause of our holiness, and which alone cleanseth 
from all sin. This blood is all sufficient : — as 
prevailing now as ever it will be. What then 
does the believer (hungering and thirsting after 
righteousness, or inward purity) wait for ? The 
promise is, They shall be filled. Why delay ? 
We may come just as we are ; and if so, we 
may come this moment. It is said, Acts xxvi, 
18, " We are sanctified by faith in Jesus :" and 
the work in that verse is plainly distinguished 
from justification, or the forgiveness of sins, 
both being there clearly promised. Tf then it 
be by faith alone, it must be also instantaneous, 
in the same manner as our pardon was. Did 
we not receive the one in a moment, by, and in 
the act of believing ? And why should we stum- 
ble at coming the same way for the other ? U By 
grace are ye saved through faith," in all the 
different degrees of that salvation which we can 
receive in the body. If by grace, then it is no 
more of works, and if not by works, we need 
wait for none : — we may come just as we are, 
yea, just now. 

May the Lord, while you read these lines, 
open the windows of heaven, and fill your spirit 
with his pure love. Do you thirst ? Behold 
rivers of living waters gushing out of your Re- 
deemer's wounds, — water that will wash your 
inbred sin away. Is not the Holy Ghost wait- 
ing to apply the efficacious blood, and make you 
white as snow ? — Hovers he not over you ? — ■ 



230 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

knocks he not even now at the door of your 

heart ? O let your inmost spirit cry, 

" Come in, come in, thoa heavenly guest, 
Nor hence again remove ; 
Bat sup with me, and let the feast 
Be everlasting love." 

Amen, Lord Jesus, answer the prayer of thy 
child. Be it unto her as her soul desireth ; fill 
her heart, and fill it now. I feel for the trials 
of your present situation, but the sweet love of 
Jesus shall bear you above all. Take no thought 
for the morrow, but momentarily live to God, and 
for God, and nothing will be able to harm you. 
I am, my dear friend, yours in the best of bonds. 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter XVIII. — To Mr. Robert Roe, upon the 
nature of faith, and in what sense the act of 
man. 

Macclesfield, Aug. 12, 1779. 
Dear Cousin, — I can still see all your doubts 
and scruples in no other light than as tempta- 
tions and suggestions from an enemy, who is, 
and ever will be, watching and endeavouring to 
break your peace. And though I believe you 
will be brought through them all to the haven 
of bliss, yet you permit him to rob you of much 
comfort, which you might enjoy ; and he would 
rather employ you in answering his lying sug- 
gestions, than that you should be momentarily 
looking up to, and depending on Jesus for all 
you want. For my own part, if it were not to 



ITftS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 231 

answer your queries, I should never enter into 
the nice distinctions you do. I have much more 
to learn myself, and am convinced many would 
solve your scruples much better than I can. 
Indeed, to speak properly, no one can do it : — 
it is the work of God. Yet, 1 am ready to im- 
part what himself hath freely given. But, I 
beseech you to read my letters with prayer, and 
beg of <irod that he will attend every observation 
with the light and blessing of his Spirit. 

You say, " The work of justification is greatly 
obscured by many, and you do not exclude me ; 
— that I tell you, sometimes it is by faith, some- 
times by works. 5 ' So do St. Paul and St. James, 
yet they are strictly consistent with themselves 
and eacii other. But I sometimes think you 
understand by works a meritorious condition ; I 
never mean any such thing. When I speak of 
the works God requires in a seeker or believer. 
I only mean a co-operation with, or using the 
grace given to us. I believe God the Father 
loved all mankind in their sins, freely and un- 
conditionally, or he had never given his only- 
begotten Son. And it was an unconditional 
promise, " The seed of the woman shall bruise 
the serpent's head." God the Son also loved 
us freely and unconditionally, when he left his 
Father's glory, and became man ; — lived, died, 
and rose again for us, I believe too, God the 
Ho!}' Ghost, unconditionally (with respect to any 
thing we can do) " enlightens every man that 
eometh into the world." But then, these things 
being done for us, by and through the free grace 



232 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

of the Eternal Trinity, we are required to use the 
light given. 

If the Spirit of God convinceth of sin, which 
is his work, we are required to forsake it ; and 
there is always power to do it communicated. 
This forsaking of sin is an act of man, and a 
condition ; for " put away the evil of your do- 
ings," saith God, 6i from among you, and cease 
to do evil :" yet this is not a meritorious work. 
Again : if the Spirit point the guilty, heavy- 
laden sinner to the Lamb of God, shows the all- 
sufficiency of his atonement, and that the pro- 
mises are made to such lost sinners as he is, 
who are weary of the burden of sin, that he has 
a right to come, because all are invited ; and 
that " now is the accepted time" with God, " and 
row is the day of salvation ;" — that no price, no 
worthiness, is required ; but he may come with, 
out money, and be forgiven freely ; — when these 
things are revealed by God, which is his work, 
then it is that we are commanded to act faith. 
We are to believe the record true ; embrace it, 
rely upon it, and venture our guilty souls on the 
promises made through a bleeding Saviour. It 
is after this act of faith, not before it, God gives 
the witness of the Spirit. Do you understand 
me ? The witness, or the seal of the Spirit, is 
God's gift, not our act ; given to all who do act 
faith on Jesus, and the promise made through 
him. But it is not given till faith be acted. If 
we, as penitents, had no power thus to act faith, 
how would God be just in declaring, " He that 
believeth not shall be damned ?" 



ItfRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 233 

With respect to works after justification, can 
any one retain his confidence in God without 
them ? — Has he any foundation in the Scripture 
to do so ? — God absolutely requires that we 
should do, do, do, (as you say,) and* be, be, be : 
not in a meritorious sense, but as fruits of the 
law of love, written in our hearts, acceptable 
and well pleasing through Jesus Christ, and 
with every injunction he gives power to perform 
it. The power given is of grace, and the use 
of that power is the act of man. Again : When 
the Lord, by his Spirit, reveals our inbred sin, 
and points us to the all-cleansing blood, and to 
the promises to circumcise our heart, &c, it is 
his work wrought in us freely. But, when this 
light is given, we are to embrace the promises, 
and act faith upon them. God hath said, " I 
will do it. Let me ask, Do you believe he will 
do it in you ? Hold fast that faith, then, for the 
promise is sure, it cannot fail : and God's time 
is now. Only believe. God at this moment 
requires an act of faith in you. He holds out 
the promise, and bids you believe. But you will 
say, I do not feel the blessing. Poor Thomas ! — 
Because thou hast not seen, thou wilt not believe. 
" Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet 
have believed !" But you ask, " What must I 
believe ?" I answer, that God is faithful — that 
he can and will, in a moment, give you what 
now you do not feel : nay, you will not feel it 
till after you have believed. If I had given you 
an apple, it would not be faith to believe I had 
given it : but, if I had promised to give you one 



234 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

and to give it you instantly on your requesting 
it ; if you then believed my promise, and took 
me at my word, though you did not see or handle 
the apple, this would be your act of faith in me. 
But how much more immutable the promise of 
a God ! You cannot believe him in vain. Even 
suppose (which is seldom the case) you thus act 
faith a day or two, or longer, before you receive 
the witness, shall you be the worse for it ? Nay, 
but far better for having believed : this faith will 
bring power into your soul, and you will sensibly 
feel what you never felt before ; and soon you 
will prove the Spirit's inward testimony, that it 
is done unto you according to your faith. But 
you will say, " How is the work instantaneous, 
if I must wait a day or two ?" I answer, the 
work is done the moment you believe ; though 
the witness of the Spirit (which is not your faith, 
but the gift of God) be not fully given till after- 
ward. " He that believeth" (the promise saith) 
" shall be saved" — from guilt, from inbred sin, 
and into glory. 

It appears to me you labour under another 
mistake. You expect in being saved from sin, 
to be also delivered from temptation, short com- 
ings, weaknesses, and infirmities ; but these are 
inseparable from humanity. We shall never 
have a perfect body till the resurrection : of con- 
sequence, shall be liable to a thousand infirmi- 
ties. We shall never have perfect knowledge 
in this life ; and shall therefore ever be liable to 
errors in judgment, &c. The perfect law of 
Adam would condemn these things : but we are 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 235 

under the covenant of grace; or, in other words, 
under the law of love to Christ ; whose blood 
every moment pleads for these things. May 
the God of peace and love teach and guide 
you into his perfect will, prays your affectionate 
cousin, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter XIX. — To the Rev. J. Wesley. 

Macclesfield, Oct. 15, 1779. 
Rev. Sir, — Since I received your last, I have 
had a return of the pain in my side, an oppres- 
sion of my lungs, and sometimes (which I never 
had before) such a yellowness of my skin, that I 
apprehended it would turn to the jaundice. After 
eating and drinking, I was thrown into violent 
heats, and afterward into cold, fainting sweats. 
Then I was either in great pain at my stomach, 
or else so sleepy, that I could not keep my eyes 
open for a considerable time. But, blessed be 
God ! I found it a sweet affliction ; for never did 
I find Christ, so precious ; my evidence so clear ; 
my will so unreservedly swallowed up in his, nor 
the intercourse so truly opened betwixt him and 
my believing soul. Hence I loved, and praised 
him for every pain ; and, had it been his adorable 
will to have called me hence, how gladly should 
I have obeyed the joyful summons, and hasted 
to the presence of my beloved, my friend, my 
all ! But seeing he still spares me a little longer, 
I embrace his will, and bless the merciful hand 



236 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

which brought me down, and hath raised me up 
again. I see an open field, a boundless prospect 
of new delights lies open before me. I see and 
feel that God hath engaged all his attributes in 
my behalf; and in his strength I fear no cross, 
no shame, no enemies ; for my Leader, my Cap- 
tain, my King, is the Lord of hosts. His glory 
is my only aim, and my only happiness. O 
precious thought ! O bliss, not imaginary, but 
real ! not fading, but everlasting ; not decreasing, 
but ever growing ! O vast abyss of unfathoma- 
ble love! And as this is my portion, so, dear 
sir, it is yours also. We experience it now, and 
shall for ever know it. On these accounts, how 
easy is the sight of faith ! how delightful the 
labours of love ! and how welcome the cross we 
bear for Him, who is our life, our strength, and 
our salvation ! 

Dear Mr. S. is still unable to go into his cir- 
cuit, and I fear he will never be much better. 
Cold bathing seems to do him most good ; but 
he is very ill, especially in the mornings. His 
grief at not being able to travel is, I believe, a 
great hinderance to his recovery. My soul feels 
great nearness to him ; for I believe he is, in a 
peculiar sense, beloved of God, and a faithful 
steward of his grace. 

I hope, sir, you will remember him at the 
throne of grace, and that God may either restore 
him to his former usefulness, or else help him to 
be perfectly resigned to his adorable will ; for 
you know, dear sir, that to have a soul all on 
fire for doing good, kept back and hindered by 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 237 

sickness, weakness, or other bodily infirmity, 
must be a great temptation to the contrary. But 
as there are none so weak as myself, and, of 
consequence, who stand more in need of Divine 
assistance, I hope you will not cease to mention 
me in your prayers. In so doing you will greatly 
oblige, Rev. sir, your very unworthy, but most 
affectionate friend and servant, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter XX. — To the Same. 

December 11, 1779. 
Rev. and Dear Sir, — I should not have been 
silent thus long, had not my dearest Lord seen 
good to afflict my body. I have lately been con- 
fined, and am just recovering from a sore throat. 
It was not ulcerated, but attended with a fever. 
Numbers in this town, or neighbourhood, have 
been ill, and several have died, four in one family 
within a month. I applied hartshorn to my 
throat, and found benefit from it. I am now, I 
bless God, much better. I have reason to praise 
him for every affliction ; for all he permits does 
work together fur my good. I do love my Lord 
with all my heart. 

" All my capacious powers can wish, 
In him doth richly meet ; 
Nor to my eyes is light so dear, 
Or friendship half so sweet." 

No, no, all the creation can boast is poor and 
mean compared with him I love. In him I feel 



238 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS* 

a constant heaven, and my soul truly sits loose 
to all besides. I have victory, through his grace, 
over all things, inward and outward, that are 
contrary to his will. I have at times various 
temptations ; but they find no place in me, nor 
at any time distress or bring me into bondage. 
I have (glory be to God) the inward testimony 
of his Spirit, that I please him, and that he 
dwelleth in me. My body and soul are both the 
Lord's ; and I earnestly desire that his whole 
will may be done in me and by me. I am a 
sacrifice offered up through Jesus, my adorable 
High Priest ; and am determined, through grace 
divine, ever to remain so. I am a pilgrim in a 
strange country, and all my treasure is above. 

I am travelling as fast as the wings of time 
will bear me forward, to my celestial country ; 
though thorns, and snares, and gins, sometimes 
beset my path ; yet my feet are shod, my san- 
dals on, and I trample on them. Though the 
arrows of the archer are flying, I have a shield 
that turns aside the fiery darts. I have a shadow 
from the heat, and a refuge from the storm. I 
live upon the food of angels, and drink largely 
of the fountain of the water of life. His ways 
are wa}s of pleasantness, and all his paths are 
perfect peace. How great is the love wherewith 
he hath loved me ! O how large his grace to 
the most unworthy ! " Bless the Lord, O my 
soul, and all that is within me bless his holy 

name. I have heard from cousin J R , 

and his soul prospers ; blessed be God ! I hope, 
dear sir, you ever do, and ever will remember* 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 239 

at the throne of grace, your most unworthy, but 
truly affectionate child in a precious Jesus, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter XXL— To Mr. Robert Roe. 

Maccles field, Jan. 14, 17S0. 
My Dear Cousin, — I am willing to answer 
any question, or write in any manner that will 
give your soul satisfaction ! — break any snare 
of the enemy, or, in any way whatsoever, glorify 
God : but I am often led to think you do not want 
information in } T our judgment respecting these 
things ; and therefore that your aim is to see how 
far I am, or am not, consistent with myself in 
my different letters. Were many people to pe- 
ruse what I write to you, they would think it 
very presuming in me to argue points of doctrine, 
or experience with you, w r ho are intended to be 
a teacher in Israel : yet, you so draw me in, that 
I dare not refuse. I rejoice to hear that your 
soul is more happy in God than when you wrote 
before. O live near to him, and press forward, 
and all is yours ! I would again repeat, trample 
upon all that is past, and come this moment to 
Jesus by faith alone, for present, instantaneous, 
perfect love. 

" Ready are you to receive ; 
Readier is your God to give." 

But I must hasten to consider your objections. 
You ask, if I, " previous to justification, forsake 
all sin, and have power to keep myself from 
evil, by the grace I receive from f iie convincing 



240 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

Spirit of God — what need of his free justifying 
or sanctifying grace ? On the other hand, if I 
offend (say you) in one point, not being faithful 
to the grace of conviction, am 1 never afterward 
to be accepted, even by the Gospel charter ? How 
agrees this (you go on to ask) with trampling, as 
you often bid me, on my worthiness and un- 
worthiness, and coming by faith alone ?" I would 
here put a few questions to you, and I beseech 
you answer them to the Lord. Can your for- 
saking all sin now, (though it be pleasing to 
God, and what he requires and commands.) can- 
cel your old sins, or obtain forgiveness for what 
is past ? Have you no need, then, of the free 
justifying grace of God, to be received by faith 
alone? On the other hand, if you resist the 
convincing Spirit of God, and continue in sin, 
contrary to his strivings and drawings, wall he 
continue his operations, and, in spite of you, work 
that faith in you which alone justifies the un- 
godly ? Yet consistent with these things, you 
may, through the power of temptation, and your 
evil, unregenerate nature, have been overcome 
and given way, not being faithful to the grace 
of light and conviction : and yet, you may still 
come, hating the sin you have committed, and 
burdened with your past unfaithfulness, trampling 
on your present worthiness or unworthiness, 
come just as you are, — a poor prodigal, a con- 
demned malefactor, to Jesus, and receive freely, 
by faith alone, the mercy and the pardon you no 
ways deserve. 

Again, you are now a believer, but feel the 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 241 

remains of a carnal nature. It is your happy 
privilege, through the Spirit, to mortify the deeds 
of the hody, or the motions of the body of sin, 
that still works in your members. This is pleas- 
ing unto God, and what he requires, as fruits 
of that faith, whereby he hath promised you 
shall be able to quench every fiery dart of the 
devil. But, supposing you do this without once 
being unfaithful to the grace of justification, 
(and alas ! very few, if any, can truly plead 
they have been so,) will this cleanse your heart 
from the root of inbred sin ? Ah no ! And have 
you no need then of the free sanctifying gract 
of God, to be received by faith alone ? If, 01 
the other hand, you are willingly, wilfully, a 
habitually unfaithful to grace given, are led cap 
tive, and overcome by your inbred sin, or out- 
ward temptations : if you resist the teachings 
of the Spirit of God, who would point you to the 
all-cleansing blood, and do not earnestly seek to 
go into perfection, neither desire holiness, will 
he come forcibly, and take possession of your 
heart, and dwell there, whether you will or no ? 
Yet, consistent with what I have urged, though 
you may be deeply conscious you have not been 
strictly faithful to justifying grace ; nay, through 
surprise, or temptation, you have been vanquished, 
and foiled, and overcome by inward corruption ; 
yet, coming self- condemned and humbled in the 
dust to Jesus ; will he refuse freely to forgive, 
yea, (and if you earnestly desire it, and come by 
faith alone to receive it,) to cleanse you from all 
unrighteousness ? 
16 



g42 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

You ask, How am I to learn the difference 
between sin and temptation? I own there is 
some difficulty here ; I mean, in discerning be- 
tween the motions of inbred sin, while it yet 
remains, and the temptations of Satan. Nothing 
but the Spirit of God, by his inward teaching, 
can make it clear to you. But this we know, 
whether our temptations are from our evil hearts 
when unrenewed, or from the enemy. If our 
will stand firm for God, and oppose all that 
would rise, or is offered contrary to his will, he 
is so far from accounting us guilty of sin, that 
he approves, and will reward the victory. But 
O ! rest not without inward purity, and when 
your heart is cleansed from all sin, you will see 
more fully the nature of temptation. 

Pray let us know if you are likely soon to get 
ordained : and if you are, whether you will acr 
cept the curacy now offered you. I hope you 
had a profitable time with Mr. Wesley. I had 
a precious season when he was here ; and I 
think I never saw him so full of the Spirit of 
his Master, — so full of God. May the Lord fill 
your earthen vessel with all his fulness, and keep 
you till redemption's day, prays your affection- 
ate cousin and friend, H. A. Roe. 



Letter XXII.— To Miss Loxdale. 

Macclesfield, May 20, 1780. 
My very Dear Friend, — How agreeable 
was the reception of your affectionate letter j 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 243 

but I am very sorry to find your health is so 
indifferent. My dear friend, let me advise you 
to take all the care you can of your body, for it 
is not your own, but the Lord's. And I am fully 
convinced we have no right to trifle with the 
precious talent of health, which is given us to 
improve to the glory of our God. 

I every day experience fresh calls, and fresh 
motives to praise and love our adorable Lord. 
Nor is my grateful heart less moved at the gra- 
cious tenderness of his dealings with my dear 
sister. O my love, can you ever now distrust 
him for any thing ? Surely such love hath de- 
stroyed unbelief for ever : — surely you can now 
put no limits to his power and faithfulness ; his 
grace — his willingness to save. O praise him, 
and trust him for ever. 

" Look for his perfect love, 

Look for his dear people's rest ; 

Hope to sit down with him above, 

And share the marriage feast." 

Yes ; there I trust we shall meet and rejoice 
together ! — there we shall sing, without weari- 
ness of body or soul, the wonders of his grace, 
and tell to all the listening heavenly throng, how 
rich, redeeming love, hath saved and ransomed, 
kept and preserved, delivered and strengthened, 
and at last brought us safe where the wicked 
cease from troubling, — where the weary are 
at rest. 

I rejoice that you are still pressing on to the 
attainment of that holiness which God calls you 



244 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

to. Only come by simple faith, and you shall 
soon experience that sweet rest, 

"From self and sin set free." 

I look upon this blessing as consisting, not so 
much in overwhelming joy, as humbling love : 
though joy, as an effect, will surely follow after. 
With me it was thus : I sunk into my own no- 
thingness, and was humbled in the dust. Emptied 
of self and self-dependence, I submitted to be 
saved by grace. My depth of weakness was 
laid open to my view, but I cast myself on 
Jesus as my strength : emptied of all, I plunged 
by a simple act of faith, into his fulness of love, 
and found him all my salvation, and all my de- 
sire. When Satan suggested, Thou wilt soon 
lose what thou hast attained ; I told him, Let 
my Lord see to that : " He that keepeth Israel, 
neither slumbereth nor sleepeth." Jesus is mine, 
with all his strength and fulness ; and his grace 
is sufficient. I think, my dear friend, if you 
expect thus to be laid at the Saviour's feet, in 
humblest love and self abasement, temptation 
that the blessing is something greater than you 
will be able to bear, will vanish ; or at least, 
lose all its force : and, being thus humbled, thus 
united to Jesus, hang momentarily depending on 
him, and fear not but he will be your keeper. 
Faith is the bond of union, and in your union 
with him lies all your strength. He will water 
you every moment : yea, he will dwell in you as 
a well of water springing up into everlasting 
life. He is himself all you want : he is holi* 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 245 

ness ; — he is heaven ; — and he is yours ! My 
soul longs for you. 

" O may you gain perfection's height, 
And into nothing fall ! 
Be less than nothing in your sight, 
And Christ be all in all." 

You will, you surely will ! Nay, I have no 
doubt but you will soon prove this ; for the Lord 
enlarges my heart in your behalf; and I trust 
your next will convey the happy tidings. 

The Lord is peculiarly gracious to your un- 
worthy friend, and condescends to bless my 
small labours for him. In visiting the sick, I 
found a great increase of love to God, and the 
souls for whom Jesus died. At some places, 
the neighbours coming in, the power of the 
Lord has been very- present ; and some of them, 
who before were asleep in sin, are crying out, 
" What must we do to be saved ?" and so many 
fresh ones are sending to me daily, and begging 
I will call upon them, that it seems as if my em- 
ployment would soon be too great for my bodily 
strength ; but if he calls me to the work, he will 
give strength for it. My one desire is to spend 
and be spent for him. Our present maid has a 
deep concern upon her mind, and, I trust, will 
not rest short of pardon. She who has left us 
retains her peace, and walks uprightly. I can- 
not tell you the grateful feelings of my heart on 
this account. I thank you for your kind inten- 
tion in the affair you mention : hope my God 
will reward every token of your undeserved love 



246 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS* 

to your very unworthy, but sincere friend in him 
we love, H. A. Roe. 



Letter XXIII. — To the Same. 

Macclesfield, Nov. 2, 1780. 
My Dear Friend, — I rejoice to find by the 
contents of your last, that you are pressing on 
to the attainment of that fulness.which God calls 
you to enjoy : and I trust you will soon experi- 
ence that blessed rest — from self and sin set 
free. The suggestion, that this blessing will be 
more than you can bear, is apparently from an 
enemy : — Ah no ! but it will enable you to bear 
all things. If you expect to be overwhelmed 
with exceeding great joy when you receive this, 
I think you are not expecting it in the way it is 
generally given. I look upon joy as an effect, 
or a. fruit, and not the blessing itself. With me 
it was thus: I was humbled and self-emptied, 
and Jesus became my all in all ! I felt myself 
all weakness, (yea, as I never did before,) and 
he was all my strength :— / all ignorance, he my 
wisdom : — / all nothingness, he all fulness :• — / 
all helplessness, he omnipotence. I flew from 
myself, and escaped to Jesus : he received iAe 
graciously, freely, without money, without price, 
without worthiness, or faithfulness, and became 
all my salvation, and all my desire : humbled in 
lowest abasement at his boundless condescen 
sion, and filled with love, I felt that God was all 
and in all to me, 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS, 247 

If the enemy were to suggest, though you 
were to feel this, you could not retain it : re- 
member, you receive the blessing that it may 
keep you. You have only to hang momentarily 
dependent on Jesus, and he will be your keeper. 
Faith is the bond of union, and m your union 
with him lies your strength. He will water 
you every moment : yea, he will be in you as a 
well of water springing up into everlasting life. 
Jesus himself is all you want : — he is holiness — 
he is heaven — he is yours. O bring your pol- 
luted heart then, just as it is ; and he will take 
full possession ! O come by simple faith ! 

:i Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, 
And looks to that alone ; 
Laughs at impossibilities, 

And cries, ' It shall be done.' " 

My state of health is better than it has been 
for some years ; but, glory be to God, not half 
so well as my better part ! O no ! — so plentiful, 
so rich, is my Redeemer's love, that thought can- 
not fathom it : it seems but now beginning an 
eternity of bliss ! O how sweet the service of 
such a Master, such a God ! — how reasonable, 
how delightful all his paths ! w r hat solid, present 
peace !— what antepasts of heavenly joys, when 
we walk in communion with him ! If we have 
any sorrow, any abiding doubts or fears, surely 
it is because we know not, as fully as w r e may 
know, the nature of a God of love. When we 
suffer him to reveal to us what he is, the lovely 
discovery transforms us into his image, and dis- 
pels every thought but love. Beholding him, 



248 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

we are changed into the same image, from glory 
to glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord. 

My thirsty soul earnestly longs to know him 
more : but his love is unfathomable : — yet every 
day brings me fresh discoveries: — and I be- 
lieve, what we are capable of receiving, he will 
reveal to all who love him. Open then your 
heart : — permit him, and he will give you such 
ravishing views of his beauty, as you never had 
before : — -such views as will dissolve your heart 
in humble love, and fill your eyes with joyful 
tears. You w 7 ill see and own, 

" His every act pure blessing is ; 
His path unsullied light." 

May what I now feel be communicated to your 
spirit, and God be your eternal portion, prays 
your affectionate sister and friend, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter XXIV. — To the Rev. J. Wesley. 

January 6, 1782. 
My very Dear and Honoured Sir, — I have 
still good news to tell you. Glory be to God, he 
is working graciously among us. Cousin Robert 
has been the instrument of four persons believ- 
ing, and receiving sanctification since I wrote 
last. One of them is a class leader, and in all 
who now profess this salvation, the change is 
very evident : they walk and follow after God as 
dear children, who trulv love him with all their 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 249 

hearts. On the watch-night, a young woman 
who experienced this salvation some years ago, 
hut had lost it, received it again, as Mr. L. was 
saying, " Come by faith alone, if you have no 
worthiness, no fitness ; believe only, and love 
shall make all things new. Delay not a moment : 
come now, and God will now destroy your in- 
bred sin," &c. 

Mr. L.'s word is made a blessing to very 
man)'. Several backsliders are restored ; many 
convinced of sin, some converted, and a number 
longing to love God with an undivided heart. 

! how I love thus to see the prosperity of Zion ! 

1 feel indeed a sweet assurance, through grace, 
that if all around me were careless and luke- 
warm, my soul would cleave to its only centre, 
with all its powers and affections ; but how much 
more does it animate and enliven my spirit ; how 
increase my joy ; yea, how does it strengthen 
my hands, to see my dear brethren rejoicing and 
glorying in the same precious salvation, and liv- 
ing as it becomes the redeemed of the Lord ! 
There are persons, besides those I have men- 
tioned, who can say, they feel nothing contrary 
to love, and are kept in perfect peace ; but dare 
not yet profess that they are cleansed from all 
sin. I now meet two bands, and blessed be God 
we do not meet in vain. My soul dwells truly 
in a present heaven : the eternal Trinity is my 
God and my all. Every power and faculty is 
swallowed up in him. 

" I nothing want beneath, above, 
Happy in his perfect love." 



250 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

I was surprised to hear that you had been at 
Chester and Wrexham : but, I trust, if you did 
not come to preach a funeral sermon for a friend, 
you came to shake Satan's kingdom. 

We had a precious love feast. Some people 
tell me I always have precious times, and there- 
fore judge others have so too ; but I believe most 
that were present are agreed in this, that we 
have had no love feast like the last for many 
years. The select band is very lively. I have 
just been there, since I began my letter, and find 
another soul has received the witness of sanc- 
tification under Mr. L. this morning. I know 
you will join me to praise a God of love. Glory 
be to his holy name. 

" Our days of praise shall ne'er be past, 
While life, and thought, and being last, 
Or immortality endures." 

In a day or tw r o after I wrote to you, the pain 
in my face and head was suddenly removed in 
answer to prayer, and I have hardly felt it since 
Till then I had no liberty to pray for its removal ; 
but, hearing that my bands never met during my 
confinement, and that several neglected to meet 
in the select band, whom I persuaded to go be- 
fore, I said, " Lord, if thy unworthiest servant 
can be a blessing to their precious souls, remove 
this affliction," it is enough ; " and I will praise 
thee." And the prayer was heard. In ten thou- 
sand instances I thus prove him a God that hear- 
eth and answereth prayer. I am filled with his 
goodness ; I know not where to begin that praise 
that never shall end. I remain, dear and ever 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 251 

honoured sir, your unworthiest child in bonds of 
divine love, II. A. Roe. 



Letter XXV. — To the Same. 

April 7, 1782. 

Rev. and Dear Sir, — Glory be to him, to 
whom all glory is ever due. I rind him an ocean 
of love, without bottom or shore. He fills my 
happy soul with humble joy unknown. I dwell 
in his sacred presence ; he dwells in my worth- 
less heart, and all wrapt up in him I am. 

Your last sermon on the Monday morning was 
made a peculiar blessing to very many precious 
souls, who say, they are sure God directed you 
to speak just as you did. Some others indeed 
say, you preached a new doctrine, which they 
never heard before, except from cousin Robert 
Roe, respecting a present salvation ; for they 
cannot believe a person can be justified or sanc- 
tified, unless they have undergone a long pre- 
paration, &c. Nay, they have even affirmed 
that he or myself desired you to preach that ser- 
mon, and to mention the person who was con- 
victed, justified, and sanctified in twelve hours. 

Why should we wonder at these things ? The 
remains of the carnal mind in myself would 
once have strongly opposed the simplicity of faith. 
But O ! how precious do I now prove the ex- 
perience of those words, " I am crucified with 
Christ, nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ 
liveth in me ; and the life that I now live in the 



252 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who hath 
loved me, and given himself for me." How 
mistaken are those who say, to speak much of 
living by faith, or of coming to be justified or 
sanctified by faith alone, is setting aside good 
works ? For, can there be a Gospel faith which 
does not work by love ? And does not love work 
all holy obedience ? Excuse me, dear sir, I have 
been led to say more on this subject than I in- 
tended ; my soul being peculiarly blessed since 
I began to write. Indeed, I often find it so when 
I write to you. He makes you in various ways 
an instrument of much good to my soul. How 
unworthy am I of his innumerable mercies! 
Praise the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within 
me praise his holy name. 

A dear young woman, who received sanctifi- 
cation about three months ago, (who has been 
a follower of God for six years, and found his 
pardoning love at fourteen years old,) is now to 
all appearance on the borders of eternity ; and 
no pen can describe the holy triumph of her soul. 
It is a blessing to be near her. On Tuesday 
last, as I was repeating and enforcing some of 
the passages in your last sermon, and a few 
parallel promises, another young woman, who 
had been seeking the blessing two years by works, 
was by faith brought into full liberty, and still 
retains the clear witness that she is cleansed 

from all sin. And while Mr. S offered a 

present salvation, a young woman was justified. 

J S writes word he has reason to praise 

God for his journey to Macclesfield, and is de> 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 253 

termmed to preach an instantaneous present sal. 
vation from all sin. I trust your going to Chester 
will strengthen his hands. I cannot tell you how 
much I am filled with a spirit of prayer for you, 
and a sweet assurance that God is about to use 
you as a more peculiar instrument of good than 
he has ever done. I look for an abundant out- 
pouring of the Spirit. Whenever I hear of 
souls being blessed, those words are applied, 
" Ye shall see greater things than these." May 
the fulness of the Triune God ever fill your 
happy soul ! and may you still help me to love 
him more, prays your most unworthy, but ever 
affectionate, 

H. A, Roe. 



Letter XXVI. — To the Same, 

June 13, 1782. 
Rev. and Dear Sir, — I have been very ill, 
and my body brought very low since I saw you ; 
but those sweet words continually applied, caused 
me to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of 
glory, viz. " According to my earnest expecta- 
tion, and my hope, that in nothing I shall be 
ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so 
now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, 
whether it be by life, or by death ; for me to live 
is Christ, and to die is gain." O my dear sir, J" 
never dwelt so much in God as I have done of 
late. My whole soul has been swallowed up in 
communion with the eternal Trinity ; and pe» 



254 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

culiarly within this last fortnight, with the Holy 
Spirit. I have been led to pray in faith for a 
universal and pentecostal outpouring of His di- 
vine fulness ; and it surely will descend. 

Being lately on a visit to Nantwich, the dear 
people there, who knew me formerly, flocked 
around me with eagerness, and I held a prayer 
meeting with twelve or fourteen of them, for 
which I believe we shall praise God through 
eternity. A poor backslider was restored, and 
all present were filled with humble love and joy. 
I left five or six earnestly crying for a clean 
heart, and determined to meet among them- 
selves, for all the classes were broken up, or torn 
by divisions. When I came to Congleton on 
my return home, I found a young man, who 
lately withstood cousin Robert Roe to his face, 
respecting sanctification by faith, now rejoicing 
in it, and declaring it boldly to all around. I 
spoke with several who felt the need of holiness, 
and two of them are able to testify " the blood 
of Jesus cleanseth them from sin." 

In this place, those who enjoy Christian per- 
fection have had much opposition from some of 
their brethren. Four or five met constantly to- 
gether to revile cousin Robert and all who pro- 
fess it. But one of them now has been truly 
humbled before God, and received it himself in 
the very way he so much reviled, even by sim- 
ple faith. And another of them says in his class, 
and publicly to all, that, if he had continued to 
revile them, he believes he should have been 
damned for it ; but he is now determined neve? 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 255 

to rest till he receives it himself. Since you 
were with us, six or seven have been justified, 
and four or five sanctified. Cousin Robert 
preached at Keethiesum, about eight miles off, 
where one was justified, and another sanctified. 
At Burslem he found many thirsting for holiness, 
some enjoying it, and others stirred up to seek it. 
The children who professed sanctification 
when you were here, stand steadfast and unre- 
provable ; though they have much opposition from 
those who do not believe the doctrine. Indeed 
I believe it is a means of good to them, con- 
straining them to walk and cleave so much the 
nearer to God, that he may give them wisdom 
and strength. For my own part, I find every 
trial or affliction has this blessed tendency ; and 
as when a man is tossed in the sea, every bois- 
terous wave sinks him lower ; so when lost in 
the ocean of love, every severe trial, temptation, 
or afflictive dispensation, serves to plunge me 
deeper into God. Still pray for me, dear sir, and 
believe me ever your affectionate, though un- 
worthy child, 

H. A. Roe. 



Letter XXVII.— To the Same. 

July 7, 1782. 

My Dear and Honoured Sir, — Since my 

last I have been very ill, and thought I was on 

the borders of my heavenly country. O with 

what joy did I feel this feeble body fail ! How 



256 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

did my soul exult in the glorious prospect of 
eternity ! My every faculty expanded, and all 
my large desires eagerly gasping for immortal- 
ity ; for the full and immediate fruition of my 
God. When most afflicted with pain and vio- 
lent heart sickness, those words, my God, filled 
me with unutterable delight. I felt all the force 
of those other words, 

" Jesus comes with my distress, 
And agony is heaven." 

O for a thousand tongues to praise him ! O for 
a thousand lives to spend wholly for him ! Yes, 
ardently as I long to see him as he is, I could 
be willing, if so poor a worm could bring glory 
to his blessed name, to live a thousand years. 
Indeed, my dear sir, I love him with a love that 
cannot be expressed, and yet I long to love him 
more. 

" Plunged in the Godhead's deepest sea, 
And lost in his immensity." 

I see more and more lately into the extent of 
that promise, " What things soever ye desire 
when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, 
and ye shall have them." I have proved it in 
a thousand instances, and never knew it to fail 
in one. " If ye ask any thing in my name," 
says Jesus, " I will do it." What an open field 
then lies before us ! Blessed be God, the work 
still goes forward ; though all who profess holi- 
ness are strongly opposed, and their names cast 
out as evil. But we are enabled by grace to 
bear all things, and endure all things in a spirit 
of love. Cousin Robert, on entering his new 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 257 

house, had a meeting there, and it was a time 
much to be remembered. One received sane- 
tin* cation, and many were greatly established. 

I have thoughts, if the Lord open a way, of 
going into Yorkshire. I leave myself in the 
Lord's hands, as I desire to spend and be spent 
for him alone. May he fill you with all his ful- 
ness ; and in a particular manner, when you 
meet in conference, may the unction from abovo 
fill yours and every heart ! May all go forth 
with strength renewed ; and a plenitude of the 
Spirit be poured out on all flesh ! I am now and 
ever, dear sir, your unworthy, but affectionate 
child, H. A. Roe. 



Letter XXVIIL— To the Rev. Mr. Fletcher, 
Dublin, Dec. 14, 1784. 
Rev* and Dear Sir,— I believe it will not be 
unacceptable to you to be informed how a God 
of love is blessing his dear people in this city. 
You have a peculiar right to expect this, because 
you were made, through mercy, the instrument 
of kindling a gracious flame in many hearts ; 
and of preparing others to receive the message 
of salvation ; a present salvation ; even from alt 
sin. Had not you and your dear partner been 
here before us, it is probable we should not have 
been received as we now are. But the sound 
of your Master's feet was behind you, and a gra-* 
cious savour was left upon the minds of the peo- 
ple in general ; so that when we came, we found 
17 



258 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

them eager to embrace the whole Gospel. I had 
the clearest assurance, before we left England, 
that our appointment for Dublin was of the Lord, 
and every day brings me fresh proofs of it. It 
was also a kind Providence which brought us 
here on the very day that precious woman, Mrs. 
King (now Mrs. Johnson,) was married ; and in 
consequence of which, went to reside at Lisburn. 
Had we arrived before the society suffered so 
great a loss, my poor services might not have 
been so acceptable ; and had it been later, the 
minds of the people might have been grieved to 
excess. But the novelty of strangers first en- 
gaged their attention, and the word of the Lord 
then soon became a sin-killing and soul-saving 
word : so that now every one's cares and fears 
terminate in a determination to secure their own 
salvation. 

Another great blessing is, Mr. Rogers and 
Mr. Blair (his fellow labourer) are united as the 
heart of one man : Mrs. Blair, also, is a sister 
indeed to me in spirit and real affection ; so 
that we are a family of love ; and one small 
house serves us all. And not the preachers 
only, hut the stewards, leaders, and people, all 
unite, ind have only one strife — how they may 
best promote each other's happiness, and the 
cause >f God. And glory, glory, glory, be ever 
ascribnd to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, it is 
promoted ! Sinners are snatched by grace as 
brands from the burning, and the kingdom of 
God and his Christ is set up in many believing 
hearts 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 259 

" Lo the promise of a shower 
Drops already from above ; 
But the Lord shall shortly pour 
All the Spirit of his love." 

In six weeks from the time of our first arrival, 
many were awakened, and nine received a clear 
sense of pardon : these returned public thanks, 
which greatly encouraged the seekers, and 
raised the expectation of all. As it was mani- 
festly a time of refreshing from the presence of 
the Lord, it was thought expedient at our love 
feast, October 10, to give notes of admission, on 
that occasion, to many who were not as yet 
members of society, but appear desirous of sal- 
vation ; so that near seven hundred souls were 
present : and a feast of love it was, such as I 
believe many will praise God for to all eternity ! 
After several, who spoke with great freedom and 
simplicity, a poor penitent besought us with tears 
to pray for her. The kindlings of love which 
had been felt before, now became a flame in 
every believing soul ; and when fallen on our 
knees, the power of God descended of a truth : 
every corner of the house was filled vvith cries 
of " God be merciful to me a sinner," or " Praise 
the Lord, O my soul, who hath forgiven all mine 
iniquities !" Not one remained unaffected ; and 
we have since found that seven were justified 
at that time ; among whom was one that got a 
note of admittance in the morning ; and several 
who came only with a faint desire, were deeply 
convinced of sin. The next night another was 
justified under the word, and a second under 



260 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

the prayer, and a backslider healed ; and soon 

after, while Mr. R explained and enforced, 

" Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the 

kingdom of heaven ;" dear sister R- , whom 

I am persuaded you well remember ; (for you 
took great pains to encourage and help her for- 
ward ;) even this poor nervous, afflicted woman, 
who has been a seeker twenty-one years, laid 
hold of the promise by faith, and received the 
" knowledge of salvation by the remission of her 
sins ;" and notwithstanding she is often greatly 
oppressed by her bodily disorder, she is still 
enabled to claim her interest in redeeming blood* 
A poor vile young man, who had indulged him- 
self in all kinds of sin with greediness, and, ac- 
cording to his own expression, "believed no God 
more supreme than himself," strayed into the 
chapel just as Mr. Rogers gave out the text, 
" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou 
shalt be saved :" he was that hour cut to the 
heart, and is now earnestly seeking salvation, 
and has received much comfort. Under the 
same sermon, one was justified, and another 
backslider healed. 

Since this, a man and his wife came to preach- 
ing together, who had been seekers seven years> 
and their states nearly alike : they did not sit 
near each other ; but were both set at liberty 
under the same sentence, and in the same in- 
stant. They both ran to catch hold of Mr. 

R as he came from the pulpit, and there 

met each other, and rejoiced together with ex- 
ceeding great joy. The man said 2 he knew his 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 261 

wife was blest before they thus met, as well as he 
knew that himself was. Another person, who 
had been a backslider ten years, first into Anti- 
nomian principles, and then into gross open sin, 
fell lately into deep despair, and many times 
attempted to put an end to his life, but was often 
prevented by an almost miraculous providence. 
Friday, Nov. 12, was the last time, when he had 
placed a loaded pistol to his breast, and intended 
to discharge it the next moment ; but these words 
came with power, a Why will ye die ?" He in- 
stantly fell on his knees, and dropped the pistol. 
He came afterward to the preachers, who endea- 
voured to encourage him : and on the Tuesday 
following he was at our prayer meeting, where 
an agonizing spirit of prayer was given : he ob- 
tained tJien a comfortable hope of mercy, and at 
night, under Mr. Blair's preaching, was set at 
liberty. This he told me the next morning, with 
streaming eyes, and gratitude unspeakable. 

Nov. 18, we had another love feast at Gravel- 
walk : it was a more wonderful season than even 
the former. We know of nine that we have 
reason to believe were justified ; and many 
lukewarm professors were greatly stirred up. 
Two of these found peace in the blood of Jesus 
the week after ; another on Sunday night last, 
who was a Papist ; and another last night. A 
Jew is also convinced and converted ; and from 
being, according to his sect, a Pharisee, is now 
zealous in his love to Jesus, though at the ha- 
zard of his life, for his own mother, and other 



262 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS* 

relations have attempted to murder him at dif- 
ferent times. 

One of sister Johnson's classes, and another, 
since new raised, are committed to my care. In 
the first of these are now thirty-eight members, 
in the latter thirty-six ; and within the last quar- 
ter, ten of these have received a sense of pardon, 
and four others are enabled to love God with all 
their hearts. I have likewise undertook a class 
of young girls, from about nine to fourteen years 
of age. In a few weeks many of them began 
to feel awakenings, and a few were deeply con- 
vinced of sin. A month ago, one of these, ten 
years of age, received a clear sense of pardon : 
she told her companion of the same age, who 
prayed and wept, and would not be comforted, 
till she obtained the same blessing, which was 
in a few days. When the rest heard this, they 
were greatly stirred up, and the following Sab- 
bath two more were as clearly justified, one of 
eleven, the other thirteen years of age. There 
is a great and visible change in all these, and 
they speak clearly and experimentally. Seven 
more are under conviction, and I doubt not will 
soon be brought into liberty. In all, we have 
certain accounts, since we came, of forty-six 
justified, eight sanctified, and one hundred added 
to the society. 

As to myself, I never was so truly happy in 
every sense : happy in increasing union and 
communion with Father, Son, and Spirit, and 
sunk into depths of humble love. I feel my un- 
worthlness and nothingness indescribable ; yet, 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 263 

stupendous grace ! all the communicable fulness 
of a Triune God is mine. I feel the equal love 
of the undivided Deity. As I worship the Fa- 
ther, so I worship the Son and the Holy Ghost — 
my God — my all in all. I am happy too, in one 
who is truly a help to me both for soul and body, 
for time and eternity, and who greatly encour- 
ages me in all my labours : happy in my situa- 
tion, among a lively, affectionate people, who 
make it their study how to manifest their love ; 
nor have we one jarring string among us. O 
may we ever be kept humble at the Saviour's 
feet, and all our blessings (as through grace they 
do) prove only a scale to heavenly love. Please 
to remember us, in the most affectionate manner, 
to dear Mrs. Fletcher. We entreat an interest 
in both your prayers. When I last asked this 
favour at Leeds, I believe you granted it, and 
that your petitions were answered. Once more, 
then, pray for us, and believe me, dear sir, in 
Gospel love, your willing servant, 

H. A. Rogers. 



Letter XXIX. — To Mr. Matthias Joyce. 
Dublin, May 1, 1785. 

Dear Brother, — My soul greatly rejoices in 
your joy. I do join with you in that song which 
shall never end, " Unto him that hath loved us, 
and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 
be glory for ever and ever." O how precious 
is that life of simple faith you describe and pos* 



264 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

sess ! Go on, favoured servant of the Lord, and 
ho will show you greater things than these. I 
do not mean there is any thing greater or higher 
than love : but in this ocean, what heights, what 
lengths, what depths ! what immeasurable de- 
grees, even in that communion with a Triune 
God, which it is our privilege to prove. I know 
you feel something of what I mean, even of equal 
love of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This we 
cannot properly feel till freed from inbred sin. 
Where sin remains, there cannot be that close 
union with the Father I now speak of: but sin 
destroyed, and we know the meaning of those 
words, " The Father himself loveth you :" and 
again, " I and my Father will come, and make 
our abode with you." Yea, the whole Deity 
flows in upon us. Consider that blessed scrip, 
ture, " Know ye not that your bodies are the tem- 
ples of the Holy Ghost, which is in you ; and ye 
are not your own, for ye are bought with a price ?" 
By whom ? By Jesus : therefore glorify God the 
Father ; even the Triune God, — Father, Son, and 
Spirit, with your bodies and your spirits, which 
are his. 

" Drawn, and redeem'd and seal'd, 
We ']1 praise the One and Three, 
With Father, Son, and Spirit fill'd 
To all eternity." 

I hope the Lord will carry on a gracious 
Work in Drogheda. I am glad to hear you see 
so good a beginning. I never heard of so uni- 
versal a revival, as I am told by many is now 
spreading through England, Ireland, and America ; 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 265 

and yet I think it is but the beginning of what 
the Lord will shortly do. Let us not be weak 
in faith, and we shall see showers of blessings. 
The promise shall surely be accomplished ; and 
perhaps hastened speedily by the universal cry 
of God's dear children : " The earth shall be 
rilled with the knowledge of the glory of God, 
as the waters cover the sea." 

I doubt not but you have had a precious sea- 
son with Mr. Wesley. I think I never saw him 
more truly filled with his blessed Master's Spirit. 
We have heard of two souls convinced of sin, 
and eight justified under him, while in Dublin ; 
and, blessed be God, two more, since he left us, 
can praise a reconciled God, and one is set at 
perfect liberty ; besides three more of the child- 
ren, who have received remission of sins. I 
find, blessed be God, my own soul is as a watered 
garden ; and I have access to a spring, whose 
waters fail not, from which I ever drink fresh 
supplies. O what wells of salvation ! — what an 
unfathomable ocean of love ! 

A trifling affliction of body has, I think, sunk 
me deeper into God. Such heartfelt, solid peace, 
such inward nearness to, and fellowship with 
him, I have proved the last fortnight, as is better 
felt than described. It has been much of 

" That sacred awe which dares not move, 
And all the silent heaven of love." 

O for an enlarged heart ! O for ten thousand 
tongues to praise my God ! As it is said, " In 
that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, 
you in me, and I in you ;" so it is — the blessed 



266 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

day is come : I do know it : I do feel it. I know 
what it is to dwell in the Father, through the 
Son, and by the uniting power of the Holy 
Ghost, and ever worship an undivided Deity. 
These words have often been spoken to my heart, 
and I feel them now applied : " All that I have 
is thine :" yes, my Lord, and I possess a drop 
out of the ocean. If I had much more at pre- 
sent, it would lay me dead at thy feet : but all is 
mine in happy reversion, and what my weakness 
can bear, thou wilt impart. O make thyself 
room, and more of heaven bestow ! Thou wilt, 
thou dost enlarge my heart. I grasp the God I 
seek, the God I love, the God I shall enjoy to all 
eternity ! O what a word is that ! A Triune 
God my own to all eternity ! Yes, yes, he is. 
Wonder, O heavens ! Be astonished, O earth ! 
Be humble, O my soul ; and help me to praise 
him, all ye hosts above ! O that all the world 
knew the riches of Divine love ! O that all be- 
lievers would give him all their heart ! 

My brother, let you and me covenant afresh 
with God, to spread the savour of his grace with 
all our most enlarged powers ; especially his full 
salvation, that rest from all sin, that rest of per- 
fect love, received by simple faith, and by faith 
alone. I think I never read any thing wherein 
that blessing is more clearly described than Mr. 
Wesley's sermon in the March and April Maga- 
zines for this year, which I believe will do much 
good : for, how many have been discouraged by 
not knowing and considering that one point, " Sin 
i$ a wilful transgression of a known law," If 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 267 

this were the constant rule by which we judged 
of what we feel, how many vain reasonings 
would he answered ; — how many subtle sug- 
gestions of the enemy? A mistake through 
ignorance, or through an imperfect memory, 
together with various hateful injections from an 
enemy : a dulness of spirit, occasioned by the 
body ; or a flutter of spirit, occasioned by sur- 
prise, &c ; none of these, I say, or all of them 
put together, would then appear a sufficient rea- 
son why a soul should cast away its confidence 
respecting what the Lord has wrought. Seeing 
these are consistent with pure love, they are not 
wilful transgressions of a known law. 

May the Lord bless you in your soul and la- 
bours, still more abundantly, prays, dear brother, 
your friend and sister in Jesus, 

H. A. Rogers. 



Letter XXX.— To the Rev. J. Wesley. 
November 21, 1782. 
My Dear and Honoured Sir, — I have been 
much indisposed since I wrote last, but I think it 
is not wholly my old disorders. I believe since 
my cousin's death my nerves have been much 
affected, because any thing sudden will occasion 
tremours, which I can no otherwise account for, 
at the same time that my soul is in perfect peace 
and solidly happy ; as also many times there is 
a dulness and stupidity, when at the same mo- 
ment I feel a direct witness that it proceeds not 



268 MRS. 5HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

from any abatement of the ardours of love di- 
vine. Glory be to God, I feel this as a well of 
water ever springing up afresh, and I know the 
work of his grace takes still deeper root than 
ever in my worthless heart ; and though at times 
the enemy suggests, if this nervous disorder takes! 
hold of me, as on my late dear cousin, I shall 
not rejoice evermore, as I have done hitherto; 
yet I am enabled to answer him in the power 
of faith, " My strength shall be equal to my day." 
If he afflicts, I have His word of promise, " My 
grace is sufficient for thee." Nor can I have 
one painful fear : I know in whom I trust. 

I was yesterday employed in visiting members 
of the classes with Mr. R. ; a business which 
has been much neglected here of late, and which, 
I trust, will be made a blessing to many. I find 
it profitable. Mr. R. has suffered much through 
the prejudices of some ; but he is as gold purified 
in the fire : it has been an unspeakable blessing. 
It has cut off his intimacy with those, who would 
perhaps have proved snares and hinderances to 
his soul and his labours ; and united him more 
closely to the little flock, who are rich in faith, 
and heirs of the kingdom. I believe he has 
acted faithfully to God, to souls, and to you. 

The select band is now the most precious 
meeting in which I ever assembled. There are 
forty-eight members, all truly and happily walk- 
ing in the narrow path : thirty-five, I have no 
doubt, enjoy perfect love. About six have en- 
joyed it before, and are now seeking it afresh, 
and the rest, who never enjoyed it, are thirsting 






MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 269 

for it more than gold or silver. We are all too 
united in one spirit. All in this little company 
are helpers of each other's joy. 

I love Mrs. R. much : she is indeed one of the 
excellent ones of the earth. I feel much for you 
respecting the affair at Birstal : may the Lord 
strengthen your hands, and in doing so, defend 
his own cause. Your warfare shall surely yet 
be glorious, though it be through briers, or thorns, 
or scorpions. The Lord still reigneth, and will 
defend his dear servants. Surely he is purging 
his Zion, and will remove the chaff, and leave 
himself a pure and a peaceable remnant, whose 
motto shall be, " Holiness to the Lord." 

The openness of my disposition has sometimes 
brought me into inconveniences ; but with you I 
believe it will not, and therefore I speak freely. 
I am very unapt to suspect any person of guile, 
but experience tells me, all are not to be trusted. 
I feel I need the continual unction of the Holy 
One to teach me. O pray that this may be ever 
given to your ever affectionate, unworthy child 
in a precious Jesus, 

H. A. Rogers. 



Letter XXXI. — To the Same. 

Cork, Jan. M, 1783. 

My Dear and Honoured Sir, — Never had 

one, so every way undeserving, so much reason 

to praise a God of love. Day after day — nay, 

every hour I breathe, he loadeth me with hir 



270 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

multiplied mercies ; yea, they are more in num 
ber than the hairs of my head. If I did not love 
him with all my consecrated powers, and mo- 
mentarily offer up my little all ; if I were not 
resolved to embrace every opportunity to spend 
and be spent in service so divine, I should of all 
mortals be the most inexcusable : for O ! his love 
to me is boundless ; — I prove it an ocean with- 
out a bottom or a shore. The sweet communion 
I have with Father, Son, and Spirit, is unspeaka- 
ble ! and whatsoever I ask of God in faith, it is 
done. In God I live : in him I move : by him 
I act and speak, and it is in him alone I enjoy 
all my mercies. 

Since I wrote last we have fresh cause for 
praise. The Lord is doing wonders among us 
here. It seems very likely, at present, we shall 
see as great a work here as at Dublin. At the 
visitation of the classes this Christmas, we found 
the society increased from three hundred and 
ninety-seven members (the number it contained 
last conference) to five hundred and four ; and 
the number of classes are increased from twenty- 
four to thirty ; and fifty-six souls have found 
peace with God since September last. The 
Christmas festival was a most blessed season. 
On Christmas morning, at four o'clock the 
preaching house was well filled, and God was 
truly present to bless ; — many were awakened, 
and four justified at the watch-night on New- 
Year's Eve. Several also found pardon at the 
love feast, and many witnessed a good confes- 
sion ; but the time of renewing our covenant 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 271 

exceeded all : fourteen souls were that day born 
of God : some at their classes, and the rest at 
that sweet solemn season of the covenant. The 
house was truly shaken (I mean every soul 
therein) by the power of God. I believe none 
present, preachers or people, will ever forget it. 
I trust I never shall. It was none other than 
the antechamber of glory to my soul — the house 
of God — the gate of heaven. O how was I filled 
with his presence ! how r did I bask in the beams 
of his love ! how was I made to feel his immea- 
surable fulness all my own, through covenant 
blood divine ! Several were perfected in love, 
and several backsliders restored. Since this, be- 
tween thirty and forty have joined the society ; 
several of whom date their deep awakenings 
from the covenant night. Mr. Rogers saw it 
expedient on that occasion, to give notes of ad- 
mittance to some who were halting between two 
opinions ; and most of them were then, and are 
now, determined to be the Lord's. 

My class being now divided, I met twenty on 
a Tuesday, and eighteen on a Friday. My heart 
is knit to these precious souls ; and, blessed be 
God, we never meet in vain. The Lord is 
pleased to bless me in all my weak labours, and 
he knows I ascribe to him all the good done, and 
all the glory. I do lie at his feet, and am aston- 
ished at his condescending love to such a worm. 
Last Sunday evening, thanksgiving notes were 
sent by four, for a sense of pardon received last 
week ; and we hear of two more, who received 
the same blessing that day. Several of our dear 



272 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

friends, who know and love the Lord, have en* 
tered into a solemn covenant with him, and with 
each other, never to rest till they experience 
perfect love. One of these has since received 
the blessing, and seems in all things a new crea- 
ture indeed. 

We have got another new place for preach- 
ing, in a very convenient and populous part of 
this city. Mr. R. preached there the first time, 
a fortnight ago, and told the congregation he 
would meet in a class as many as were deter- 
mined to forsake their sins, and seek the king- 
dom of God with all their hearts. Fourteen 
offered themselves, and were admitted on trial ; 
and since then, five more ; so that there is a 
new class meets there, of nineteen members. 
Great good is likely to be done, as most of the 
hearers that attend are strangers, who perhaps 
would never have heard elsewhere* We have 
now five preaching houses, at different parts and 
proper distances ; and I believe we shall see a 
glorious harvest of precious souls. In all, since 
we came, seventy-seven are enabled to rejoice 
in a reconciled God, and many more seem just 
ready to step into the pool of redeeming mercy. 

We hear good news respecting the work of 
God in Dublin, and in other parts of the king- 
dom. O may the Lord ride on in the glorious 
and triumphant chariot of Gospel grace and saL 
vation, till all be subdued ! My dear Mr. Rogers 
begs me to send his duty and love to you, and 
joins me in daily intercessions at a throne of 
grace, that you may be filled with the fulness of 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 273 

every new covenant blessing. I am, my dear sir, 
your ever obliged and truly affectionate, though 
unworthy friend and servant, 

H. A. Rogers. 



Letter XXXII. — To one who had set out fair 
for the kingdom of heaven, but at this time wat 
grown languid and faint in spiritual things, 
and, likely to return to the spirit and customs 
of the world. 

Cork, Jan. 16, 1789. 
My Dear Friend, — I have long desired in 
the bowels of love, to see your soul advance in 
spiritual life : and having considered your state 
in secret, and with solemn prayer before God, I 
think duty calls me to try, if by freely and fairly 
expostulating with you, I may, through grace, be 
an instrument of stirring you up to seek the 
Lord afresh, in that manner which alone will 
avail to your salvation ; even so as experiment- 
ally to feel him your God, reconciled in Christ 
Jesus. Short of this you cannot be happy — 
you are not safe. An unpardonable sinner is 
under all the curses of a broken law ; especially 
that sentence, " Cursed is every one who con- 
tinued not in all things written in the book of 
the law, to do them :" which stands in full force 
against that soul who has never taken refuge in 
the one and only propitiation for sin ; even Jesus 
Christ the righteous ; for no man can come unto 
the Father but by him ; neither is there sa 1 va 
18 



274 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

tion in any other. He himself assures us, " If 
ye die in your sins, where I am ye cannot come/' 
and, " Except a man be born again, he cannot 
see the kingdom of God." Bear with one who 
loves you, then, while I ask a few serious ques- 
tions, as in the presence of God, before whom 
we must shortly both appear, and in whose sight 
all things are naked and open. 

Are you now as earnest in seeking the pardon 
of all your sins, as you where when, two years 
ago, you came with deep penitential sorrow and 
floods of tears, to join the society of God's peo- 
ple ? O ! that you could answer me in the 
affirmative. You well remember the language 
of your soul then was, " The remembrance of 
my sins is grievous to me, the burden of them is 
intolerable : — a wounded spirit who can bear ?" 
You saw yourself a barren fig tree, a cumberer 
of the ground ; a brand ready for the burning ; 
and that infinite justice must have sentenced 
you to the pit from whence there is no return, 
if unmerited mercy in your Divine Advocate 
had not prayed, " Let it still alone." Your cry 
was, with the publican, " God be merciful to me 
a sinner," and with sinking Peter, " Lord save, 
or I perish." For a time you acted agreeably 
to such convictions ; — promising was the pros- 
pect, and fair the bud of grace : the arms of love 
were ready to receive you, and angels even 
began to rejoice over a repenting sinner. But 
Ah ! where are now those fervent desires ; those 
grdent breathings after God ; those restless long, 
ings, which nothing but the knowledge of his 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 275 

love could satisfy ? Where is that restless spirit 
of prayer, that love to every ordinance and 
means of grace ? How seldom was your seat 
in God's house then empty ? Where is fled that 
deep seriousness which then ever sat on your 
countenance, and accompanied all your con- 
versation ? — that deadness to worldly company, 
worldly concerns, and the good will of worldly 
persons ? In short, that whole deportment, 
which loudly spoke to all, that the language of 
your soul was, 

" None but Christ to me be given, 
Is one but Christ in earth or heaven." 

My dear friend, I could weep over you while 
I see the sad reverse. Alas ! it is not with you 
now as it was then : you seem to have lost that 
blessed power, that weeping penitence, that 
happy victory over all the charms a delusive 
world can boast ! Say, is it not the case ? Have 
} T ou not sunk back into careless ease and indiffer- 
ence, with respect to heavenly things, — a false 
peace, and your spirit become light and trifling? 
You can now converse on worldly subjects, even 
as others, and join in their empty laughter ; yea, 
and prefer such company to the lovers of Jesus. 
O why is this awful change? Is God no longer 
a just and holy God to punish sin ? Is he no 
longer a God of truth, who hath said, " The soul 
that sinneth, it shall die ?" " Except ye be con- 
verted, and become as little children, ye shall in 
no case enter into the kingdom of heaven ?" Is 
Christ and salvation, pardon here and glory 
hereafter, no longer desirable? If otherwise, 



276 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS, 

why then are you neglecting and trifling with 
your most important concerns? Why are you 
returned to that which cannot satisfy ? I tremble 
for you ! O cry mightily to God, and rest not till 
you are again filled with that hungering and 
thirsting that cannot be satisfied, but in an ex- 
perimental knowledge of Jesus crucified, and 
his nature written on your heart. 

As the first step to a recovery, let me beseech 
you now lift up your soul to him who discerneth 
in secret, and ask him, Lord, why is thy striving 
Spirit departed, or just departing from me? Yea, 
ask your own soul, Wherein did you resist and 
grieve that Spirit ? He convinced you, he that 
would follow Christ so as to be saved by him, 
must forsake and give up all. But were you 
faithful and obedient to these teachings? Did 
you not, after a little, begin to keep something 
back, and say, is it not a little one ? Was there 
no creature delight, no beloved companion you 
had forsaken for Christ's sake, which you have 
again yielded to, and taken pleasure in ? pleas- 
ing yourself with the hope that this Agag might 
be spared : whereas the Spirit of Truth hath said, 
" The companion of fools shall be destroyed :" 
and you are expressly commanded, " Come ye 
out from among them, and be ye separate, saith 
the Lord :" on this condition only, saith he, " I 
will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, 
and ye shall be my sons and my daughters, saith 
the Lord Almighty." 

While you obeyed the voice of God, you could 
not go to balls, plays, or cards ; for his Spirit 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 277 

taught you, " She that liveth in pleasure is dead 
while she liveth." But, have you not been pre- 
vailed upon ? — or, if not, have you not, in what 
is called little things, conformed to the w r orld? 
Such as fashionable adorning of the body, even 
in immodest as well as costly array ? whereas, 
the command is plain and positive, and easy to 
be understood, " That women adorn themselves 
in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and 
sobriety ; not with broidered hair, or gold, or 
costly array :" and again, " Be not conformed 
to this world, but be ye transformed by the re- 
newing of your mind ;" that is, if ye would 
" prove the acceptable will of God." Now, 
consider a moment, after (contrary to checks 
of conscience) indulging yourself in any of these 
things, could you pray as before? nay, were 
even your desires after God and spiritual things 
as lively and vigorous ? Ah no ! the Spirit of 
God was grieved, and he moved not upon your 
spirit : he left you to yourself, and you neglected 
duty more and more ; till now, I fear, you can 
at times plead with the world you had forsaken, 
against singularity, against shutting yourself up 
from carnal company, and subjecting yourself 
to the sneers and disdain of those, who see no 
beauty in Christ and salvation. Alas ! how 
changed ! how trifling did yoli once account the 
scoffs and frowns of such : yea, not worth a 
thought, when you first felt your state q,s a lost 
sinner : then you would cry, 

" Let earth and all its trifles go : 
Give me, O Lord, thyself to know, 
Give me thy precious love." 



278 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

And are you happier now ? Are you in a safer 
state — more fit for heaven ? It is true you may 
have less fears of hell ; but this is no good sign, 
for you have more cause to fear. You were then 
a repenting sinner ; and had you persevered to 
seek, you would, before now, have been a child 
of God, and an heir of glory. But you are now 
a trifling sinner, and, O think a moment ! what 
is it you are trifling with ? — with God that made 
you — with Jesus, who shed his blood for you — 
with the Holy Ghost, who awakened, and hath 
been long striving with you : you are trifling with 
eternal happiness and eternal pain, and with your 
own immortal soul. This is an important sub- 
ject, and demands your immediate attention : in 
a little time it will be too late to reflect or repent. 
O, then, as you value eternal life, stop ! O go 
not a step further from your God ; but return, 
with weeping and supplication, to the feet of him 
you have pierced — him who yet prays for you, 
or you had been in hell : — to him who is yet 
willing to wash you in his own blood, and by the 
power of that Spirit you have grieved, save you 
from all, even your most besetting sin. But 
delay not, or he may swear, " You shall never 
enter into his rest." Speedily cut ofl* the right 
hand — pluck out the right eye — take up your 
cross, and give up all. You cannot serve God 
and mammon : you cannot be a friend of the 
world, and not be the enemy of God : you can- 
not indulge the spirit of the world, without losing 
your own soul. And be not deceived : if you 
follow the fashions and vain customs thereof, you 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS, 279 

have the spirit of it, and love it more than God* 
" If as the world you live, you as the world will 
die." God forbid this should be the case ! O fly 
for refuge to the hope set before you ! and let 
me have joy over you in time, and in the day 
of eternity. 

I have, however, warned you ; and perhaps it 
may be your last warning, your last call, if you 
should now neglect. God will not always strive ! 
He may, before you are aware, lay the axe at 
the root of the tree, and cut it down. O that 
you may henceforward bring forth the fruits he 
requires ; first, the fruits of repentance, then the 
genuine fruits of faith. Then shall I meet you 
with joy, among the sheep at the right hand of 
yonder dazzling throne ! — when the Ancient of 
days shall sit, and the books shall be opened ; — • 
when the righteous shall shine as the sun in the 
kingdom of their Father, and be as pillars in his 
house above, to go out no more ! Amen, Lord 
Jesus, prays yours in real affection, 

H. A. Rogers, 



Letter XXXIIL— To Mrs. Condy. 

Cork, Oct 11, 1739, 
My Dear Friend and Sister, — I believe 
you are well able to answer your own questions. 
However, as you desire it, I will freely tell you 
my thoughts on what we call Christian perfec- 
tion. We do not mean hereby, the perfection 
of God, of angels, of disembodied spirits, or of 



280 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

Adam while innocent. But we mean that per- 
fection of which our natures are capable, through 
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the second 
Adam. We are under the law to Christ; viz., 
the law of love — the law of liberty ; or, in other 
words, the covenant of grace. Whosoever loveth 
the Lord his God with all his heart, and mind, 
and soul, and strength, and his neighbour as 
himself, fulfilleth this law. The lowest degree 
of this salvation is to have all contrarieties to 
this love cast out of the soul. We may be said 
thus to love him with a pure heart, when proud 
self, and great I, are slain, and we feel only hu- 
mility : when anger, fretfulness, and impatience, 
are no more ; but we ever feel a meek and quiet 
spirit : when I will, and I will not, is all brought 
into subjection to the will of our heavenly Fa- 
ther ; and our will is, that he should reign over 
us : when he really does regulate and govern 
our passions, affections, and desires ; inordinate 
desires, and inordinate creature love being no 
more : and, lastly, unbelief (and consequently all 
tormenting fear, and painful anxiety) is wholly 
cast out. But, after all this, it remains that we 
go forward, that we grow in grace, till we be 
not only emptied of sin, but filled with all the 
fulness of God. 

The moment any soul is justified, it is free 
from the power or dominion of outward and of 
inward sin ; and may hold fast that blessed free- 
dom to the end. But, supposing a person does 
this, such a one will feel a mixture of evil pro- 
pensities, tempers, affections, and desires ; which 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 281 

defilement is so rooted in our nature, that none 
but Jehovah Jesus can cast out " the strong man 
armed, and spoil all his armour wherein he 
trusted.'' It is true, we may mortify, resist, and 
keep under those evils ; but Jesus alone can 
pluck up and destroy every plant and root which 
his Father planted not. We may gradually grow 
in grace and holiness, and hereby increase in 
victoriously subjecting the enemy within ; but 
Jesus alone can slay the man of sin. 

All salvation, too, is by faith alone, as the in- 
strument. If, then, we must be saved by faith, 
it is in a moment, and the present moment, if not 
our own fault : for, what wait we for, who are 
the children and heirs of God ? and therefore 
heirs of the promises, which are all to us, " yea 
and amen in Christ Jesus." If we wait for more 
worthiness — to suffer more, to do more, to be 
more fit; then we are seeking to be sanctified 
by these things ; viz. by works. But if we be- 
lieve we can only obtain the blessing by grace, 
through faith, and this salvation is the free gift 
of God ; then let us be consistent with ourselves ; 
let us expect it by faith — expect it in a moment, 
and expect it now : which are one and the same 
thing, and are inseparable. To be dying, and 
to be dead indeed unto sin, are two things. Be 
not you, my sister, content with the former : " A. 
man may be dying for some time," says Mr. 
Wesley, " yet, properly speaking, he does not 
die till the moment the soul is separated from his 
bodv, and in that instant he begins to live the life 
of eternity : in like manner, a man may be dying 



282 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS* 

unto sin for some time ; yet he is not * dead 
indeed unto sin,' till sin be separated from the 
soul, and in that instant he begins to live the life 
of pure /ore." O be you " dead indeed unto 
sin, and alive unto God, through Jesus Christ 
your Lord !" 

It is the blood of Jesus alone cleanseth from 
all sin : — not penal sufferings, not mortifications 
of any kind, not any thing ice have, not grace 
already received, not any thing ice are, or can 
he ; nor death, nor purgatory ; no, not the pur- 
gatory of all our doings and sufferings, and striv- 
ings put together : no, no ; Christ is the pro- 
curing, meritorious cause of all our salvation. 
He alone forgiveth sins, and he alone cleanseth 
from all unrighteousness. Faith is the only con- 
dition, and it shares in the Omnipotence it dares 
to trust. " All things are now ready," is the 
Gospel message ; and Jesus saveth all them to 
the uttermost, that come unto God by him. " I 
will, be thou clean," is his language to every seek- 
ing leprous soul! — to you if not already cleansed. 

Joy in the Holy Ghost is a blessed fruit of 
this salvation ; but divine joy is not always rap- 
turous ; we may be sorrowful, yet always re- 
joicing ; and there is suffering love, as well as 
exulting love. A person saved as above, may 
experience a degree of heaviness, or dulness, 
for a season, through bodily infirmities, close 
trials, or sundry temptations ; but such a one 
cannot walk in darkness. Likewise, many mis- 
takes are consistent with this state ; I mean errors 
in judgment, and failures in memory ; yet the will 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 283 

stands firm for God, and the intention is always 
single. Involuntary sins, (as some call them,) 
or sins of ignorance, (except the ignorance be 
wilful,) are not breaches of the law of love : — 
for these things we have an Advocate with the 
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is our 
propitiation, and washes our holiest duties in his 
own blood ; to whom we will ever give honour 
and glory. I am, my dear sister, yours in the 
bonds of pure love, 

H. A. Rogers. 



Letter XXXIV. — To one lately emerged out of 
Arian darkness. 

Cork, Nov. 5, 17S9. 
My Dear Miss D. — I received the favour of 
yours, and rejoice that you know in whom you 
have believed, and that your face is now Zion- 
ward. Go on, my dear sister ; it is a blessed 
path : — the goodly land is before — the land of 
sacred liberty, and glorious rest from all sin. O 
that you may soon prove, by happy experience, 
" perfect love casteth out all [slavish] fear I" 
and that the deepest humiliation before God, on 
account of our ignorance, helplessness, and un- 
worthiness, is not only consistent with, but in. 
separable from, rejoicing evermore ; for the 
ground of that rejoicing is, that he who hath 
loved, and washed me from my sins in his own 
hlood, hath all the honour and glory, and is all 
in all for ever ; while I sink a poor worm at his 
feet — overwhelmed at his free unmerited grace ; 



284 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

grace that plucked me from the gulf beneath — 
reconciled a poor guilty rebel to her God — 
changed the leopard's spots, and made the Ethiop 
white. Thus, the more deep our sense of un- 
worthiness, the more precious is Jesus, our in- 
terceding Advocate with the Father, who in his 
exalted human nature, ever liveth to intercede 
for us, until that day when he shall deliver up 
the kingdom (viz. his mediatorial office) to God, 
even the Father, and the glorious Godhead of 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, shall be all in all 
for ever. O the preciousness of such a High 
Priest, such a Saviour, such a Counsellor, such 
a King ! O for more heartfelt union with him- 
more of the power of his transforming love ! 
Blessed promise, " He that hungereth and thirst- 
eth after righteousness, shall be filled." 

You have heard, I doubt not, of precious Mr. 
Fletcher's death, and how he proclaimed, with 
his latest breath — Got> is love ! O that we may 
be filled as he was, with his heavenly Master's 
Spirit. There was a witness of the power of 
grace ! a living and a dying witness that Jesus 
can save to the uttermost. Let me exhort my 
dear friend, to come just as you are to the open 
fountain of his precious blood ; and how soon 
may you feel the merit of Him you were once 
taught to despise, made of God unto you not 
only wisdom and righteousness, but also sanctifi- 
cation and redemption. 

You see how freely I write, as if I had known 
you seven years. I hope you will follow my 
example in this, and let me know the particulars 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 285 

of your spiritual state, that I may rejoice yet 
more in your joy. My love and my dear part- 
ner's attend you. " May He that liveth, and 
was dead, who is the First and the Last — the 
bright and the morning Star," be the portion of 
your happy soul, prays your invariable friend, 

H. A. Rogers. 



Letter XXXV.— To Mr. Holy, of Sheffield. 
Cork, March 12, 1790. 
Dear Sir, — I have so long been silent, that I 
am almost ashamed to write at all. I can only 
say, I am more fully engaged than you can 
easily imagine ; and more so every day. As 
to farther apologies, I really have not time to 
make them, and must rely on your good nature 
to excuse me. It gave me real pleasure to hear 
of the prosperity of your soul. I cannot doubt, 
from the description you give, but the Lord hath 
put you in possession of what you so long de- 
sired, and you can now love him with all your 
heart ; or, in other words, from moment to mo- 
ment, with all your present powers. What, 
with all your strivings, you could not do before, 
viz. keep your mind from sinful wanderings, and 
the rising of evil tempers; fix your eye on things 
above — fix your affections there ; this you now 
find is done by the power of God through faith. 
It is not you that now live, but Christ liveth in 
you ; and your tempers, will, affections, passions, 
and desires, move in the will of God ; sweetly 



286 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

attracted and governed by divine love. You 
feel you are helpless : but Jesus is almighty, 
and faith makes all his omnipotence your own. 
You are tempted ; but sin, though offered with 
a pleasing bait, can find no entrance : for lo ! 
the Lord your keeper stands omnipotently near, 
and till our will gives way we have not sinned. 
What some call involuntary sins, or sins of igno- 
rance, we know would be breaches of that per- 
fect law, adapted and suitable to the perfect 
body and perfect soul of Adam while innocent : 
his perfect knowledge gave him at one glance 
to see how he ought to act in all things ; and if 
he acted contrary to this perfect knowledge, he 
sinned. But we (even when sanctified) are not 
perfect in knowledge, and therefore an all wise 
and gracious God hath put us under a law or 
covenant adapted to our capacity, and which our 
renewed natures are capable of, even the law of 
love, — love to God and every soul of man. To 
keep this law is Christian perfection. Love is 
the fulfilling of the law : involuntary sins, there- 
fore, or sins of ignorance, are not sins in the 
Gospel sense ; but to him that believeth any 
thing to be sin, though otherwise unessential, 
to him it is sin. This you know ; and while 
you keep the law of liberty — the law of love, 
you feel your many weaknesses and short com- 
ings are all atoned for by the prevailing, ever 
pleading blood of Jesus : and in this sense it is 
we every moment need the merit of his death. 

I have had a touch of the fever and sore throat, 
lately so very prevalent in this city ; but how 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 287 

tenderly hath the Lord sweetened all my pain, 
by the divine consolations of his love and con- 
stant presence : I think affliction was never so 
sweet before : he continually spoke to my heart, 
"All that I have is thine ;" so that every moment 
I was swallowed up in love and praise. My dear 
partner joins me in Christian love, and believe 
me, dear sir, to be your sincere friend and sister 
in Jesus, H. A. Rogers. 



Letter XXXVI.— To a Friend. 

London, Dec. 5, 1792. 

My Dear Sister, — As our blessed Lord has 
again restored me to a little strength, I feel re- 
newed desires to devote it all to him. Wishing 
to be of some little use to the afflicted among 
his dear saints, in the course of my visits yester- 
day morning, I called upon Mrs. Jacques, (a 
poor woman, only three doors from our Spital- 
fields chapel,) and I was thankful I did so. She 
gave me a pleasing, affecting account of her 
husband, who died a month ago. Hoping and 
praying it may prove as great a blessing to your 
soul as it has been to mine, I here relate the 
particulars. 

They had been married five years. For two 
years after their marriage they lived reputably ; 
when it pleased the Lord to afflict Mr. Jacques 
with a palsy, so that he was unable to work : 
and about eighteen months ago he had a second 
Stroke, which took away the use of one side en* 



288 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

tirely ; and he was then confined to his bed. A 
blood vessel was strained, or broke, which af- 
fected his throat, and formed a lump there as big 
as the head of a child. This affliction reduced 
him to deep poverty ; but they were assisted by 
kind friends, who also visited and prayed con- 
stantly with them. While in health, Mr. Jacques 
had frequently heard the Methodists, and was 
enlightened respecting the way of salvation ; 
and during his sickness, he earnestly sought the 
Lord ; but his evidence was never clear, till a 
little before his death. His wife knew the Lord 
in her youth, but was a backslider in heart from 
his love ; yet she earnestly desired salvation for her 
dying husband ; and would often say, " My dear, 
how is it with your soul ? Have you confidence 
in God I" &c. He would answer,"! am not 
happy : I have no assurance." She asked, "Do 
you think he has power to save you ?" He said, 
" O yes, but I want to know he does save me !" 
Several friends prayed with him, and for him ; 
yet the cloud remained until the Monday even- 
ing before he died. As one of our friends went 
into his room that night, he cried out, " Lord, 
save thy poor, helpless servant this night ! O 
visit me with salvation under the prayer of this 
thy servant : pardon my sins, and heal my guilty 
soul !" The Lord heard ; and before his friend 
rose up from prayer, so delivered him, that he 
cried aloud, " Now lam happy ! Now I know 
Jesus has forgiven me all, and I shall be with 
him for ever ! I am happy ! I am happy !" 
Thus he went on for some time. To his wife 



MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 289 

he said, " Trust the Lord, and be resigned, and 
seek his forgiveness with all your heart. Are 
you resigned ?" She said, " I cannot give you 
up." " Not resigned !" said he, with great con- 
cern, " you must be resigned, for I shall be taken 
from you ; I shall die this night, therefore resign 
me quickly !" After lying composed a little, he 
bid them pray. A person present did so : but 
he bid them pray again ! They asked, " Are 
you not happy ?" He said, " O yes, I am ; but 
you have need yet to pray — the time is very 
short !" They prayed again : but he turned to 
his wife, and said, " Do you pray." She said, 
" Lord, help me to pray." And she found power 
earnestly to entreat the Lord to finish his work, 
and if any thing remained to be done, speedily 
to make an end of sin. This satisfied him ; and 
he said, " That is right : — thank thee : the Lord 
is here, and I shall soon be happy for ever!" 
(farther adding,) " I have much to say to thee, 
and the time is very short. Are you re- 
signed?" She said, "I hope I am." "Well," 
said he, " that is right : then I shall soon go ! 
Trust God, and he will take care of thee." 
After lying a little, with his eyes closed, he 
cried, " Sing — sing — I am just going !" They 
could not sing for tears : he seemed displeased, 
and cried, " Will none of you sing ?" They could 
not answer him, and he said to his wife, " What ! 
will not you sing ? You ought not to weep, but 
to sing, when you see me going to God !" And 
then he gave out, and sung with a loud voice, 

" Salvation, O the joyful sound ! 
What pleasure to our ears !" &c. 



290 MRS. HESTER ANN ROGERS. 

After wlych he lay composed a little ; then 
started up, and said, " There is the Lord Jesus ! 
Betsey, Nereis the Lord Jesus !" And to another 
he said, " See ! thereheis ! — The Lord Jesus ! — 
I am going !" — and immediately dropped, as it 
t were, asleep into his arms ; fcr he spoke no more. 
My soul was comforted by the above relation. 
O what is all below compared with a deathlike 
this ! What are trials, which are but for a mo- 
ment, when the joy which is set before us is so 
exceeding abundant ! The poor widow now 
desires to meet class with me, and I bid her 
come. May she be joined to the Lord in bonds 
never to be broken. I am, my dear friend, yours 
in our common Lord, 

H. A. Rogers. 



THE END. 










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